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A 

TREATISE 

ON 

MAGIC, 

OR, ON THE 

INTERCOURSE 

BETWEEN 

SPIRITS AND MEN: 

WITH 

ANNOTATIONS. 



, 



BY FREDERICK HENRY QUITMAN, 

PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY, PRESIDENT OF THE LUTHERAN 
CLERGY IN THE STATE OF NEW-YORK, AND MINISTER 
OF THE GOSPEL IN RHI N EBECTC, &C. 



Every plant, which my heavenly father has not planted, shall 
be rooted up. Jesus Christ. 



BALANCE PRESS—ALBANY. 

1810. 




A 6 




PREFACE. 



Ai 



^LTHOUGH it is one of the chief ends of the 
religion of Christ, to deliver the world from the bon- 
dage of superstition, and to raise men to the glorious 
liberty of the children of God ; still we perceive that 
the King of Truth, has not yet attained that general 
victory, over the powers of darkness, for which eve- 
ry true friend of the gospel, looks with anxiety. — 
Great numbers still continue to refuse the acceptance 
of that blessed privilege, and even to many professed 
Christians, the words of the gospel may be applied : 
They love darkness more than light. Stooping their 
necks willingly, like the Galatians of old, to the yoke 
of bondage, and bewitched with folly, they will not obey 
the voice of truth, but follow blindly the vain course 
marked out by their fathers, believing in absurd tra- 
ditions and fables of old women. As I consider it to 
be the sacred duty of those, who are appointed guar- 
dians and teachers of the people, to assist them in 
breaking all kind of fetters, which degrade the dig- 
nity of man, it has been my incessant endeavour, in 
the sphere wherein Divine Providence has placed me, 
to deliver those that were entrusted to my care, from 
the shameful yoke of superstition, and to help them 
to the enjoyment of rational liberty. But although I 
flatter myself that my labours have not been altogeth- 
er in vain, yet, I have often occasion to make the de- 
jecting observation, that still some old leaven re- 
mains to be purged out, some noxious plant to be 



# 



IV 

rooted up. A recent occurrence in my neighbour- 
hood has convinced me at once, of the difficulty of 
curing that fatal malady of the human kind, and of 
the vanity of those, who are continually boasting, of 
the general diffusion of rational knowledge, in our 
present age. In the month of October of the year 
1808, the house of a respectable farmer, of that dis- 
trict of the town of Rhinebeck which is called Wer- 
temberg, was believed to be haunted by evil spirits. 
Stones were continually thrown in it, in every direc- 
tion, and part of the winter store was either destroyed 
or carried away. As the original course of the stones 
could not always be traced, while they continued to 
fly, even when the doors and windows were secured, 
the mischief was ascribed, by the inhabitants, to some 
supernatural cause. One particular circumstance, 
viz. that stones were perceived to fall in the apart- 
ments only, that were daily frequented and open to ac- 
cess, should have induced the people, to suspect 
some members of the family, and to watch their mo- 
tions ; but rather than to harbour this tedious suspi- 
cion 5 and to enter upon a careful examination, they 
took the shortest and easiest way, and attributed it 
to witchcraft. In this persuasion, they sent to a fa- 
mous conjuror from the wesfside of the river; but 
the demons equally superstitious, and fearing the ma- 
gical staff of the conjuror, departed before his arri- 
val. When I was informed of these ridiculous trans-* 
actions, I endeavoured to convince the people of the 
absurdity of their notions, requesting them at the 
same time, to give me notice, in case the spirits 
should take it again in their heads, to disturb the 
tranquillity of the house. About the same time of 



last year, while the master of the family and his wife 
were gone to New-York, the demons thought proper 
to resume their mischievous operations. Having 
been informed by the son of the family, who is a mar- 
ried man, of his distressed situation, I went there, 
accompanied by a well informed eider of my church 
in Rhinebeck. But the rumours of my expected ar- 
rival having been spread abroad, the house was so 
much crowded with people, that I could not proceed 
in the investigation of the matter, in the manner I 
had wished. However, I addressed the incarnate de- 
mons, and declared to them my suspicions of their 
wickedness, which at least put a stop to their pro- 
ceedings, whilst I was there. I am sorry that the 
delicacy of my situation, would not permit me to bring 
the offenders to confession, and to deliver them up to 
well deserved punishment. Others, in whose pre- 
sence the spirits were less cautious, were more suc- 
cessful in discovering the hands by which the stones 
were thrown. But in spite of the solemn declarations 
of several credible persons, who have surprised the 
suspected offenders, in the act of throwing, the infat- 
uation is so great, that many, and even members of 
the injured family, persist in the belief of its being 
practised by infernal influence. As it is said in the 
gospel, that the unclean spirit, when driven out, ta- 
keth to him seven other spirits more wicked than 
himself, so it was the case in the present instance. — 
Scarcely had the rumour about the forementioned 
witchcraft a little subsided, when we heard the re- 
port of the appearance of apparitions in several quar- 
ters of the town. And it is really to be feared, that 
during this dull winter, all the corners of Rhinebeck, 
A 2 






VI 

for want of other employment, will be infested with 
demons. This circumstance has induced me to com- 
pose the following treatise, chiefly for the better infor- 
mation of my congregations, and as a memento of the 
instructions, which I have often imparted to them.- — 
The chief materials are taken, beside from the au- 
thors mentioned in the work itself, from Professor 
Peter Eberhard's book on the same subject, and 
from Professor Tiedeman's inquiry into the rise and 
progress of magic, originally written in Latin, and 
rewarded with the golden medal, by the Royal Socie- 
ty in Gottengen. As I have not written this essay, 
as a specimen of my proficiency in the English lan- 
guage, I am indifferent about alphabet critics. Re- 
garding the doctrines maintained in it, I am well a- 
ware, that they will not meet with general approba- 
tion. But as freedom of inquiry, is in my opinion, 
the birth-right of the Protestant Church, and as I am 
vailing to allow this privilege to others, I wish, on no 
consideration, to be restrained in its enjoyment. For 
those, who are determined to adhere to pagan super- 
stition, or who follow the maxim of the church of 
Rome, I believe, because it is impossible, I have not 

written. 

THE AUTHOR, 

Rhinebeck, January \0tfi, 1810; 



TREATISE ON MAGIC. 



IVJlAGIC, is the art of producing supernatural ef- 
fects, by the agency of spirits. If, for that purpose, 
a good spirit is employed, it is called Theurgy ; if 
an evil spirit is put to work, it is Sorcery. 

The performers of such operations are generally 
styled Magicians. From this definition it appears, 
that the interposition of supernatural beings is abso- 
lutely required to magical practices : Consequent- 
ly, exhibitions that are founded *on mere natural cau- 
ses, however surprising they may appear, are not to 
be ranked among magical arts. To that class belong 
ail tricks of sleight of hand, practised by jugglers ; 
all performances that require a certain apparatus, 
e. g. the restoration of written instruments burnt to 
ashes ; all exhibitions that depend upon physical or 
mathematical experiments, and finally all effects pro- 
duced by chymical operations, for instance, the pal- 
ingenesis of plants. Even astrology, when consider- 
ed merely as a science of foretelling future, events 
from the position of the stars, and grounded on a sup- 
position that they possess a natural foreboding pow- 
er, ought not to be called magic : but it comes un- 
der that name, when, by it, is understood the art of 
discovering secrets, of predicting future accidents, 
of changing metals, or of curing distempers by the 
influence of certain spirits ruling over the celestial 
bodies, The practice of auguring, so common among 




the ancients, was therefore no effect of magic, be- 
cause they believed some foreboding power to be in- 
herent in the very signs which they had observed, 
without the concurrence of supernatural beings. 

The origin of magic loses itself in the dark ages 
of remote antiquity, and it has always been its fate, 
to be believed by the ignorant, to be supported by de- 
signing ambition or avarice, and to be despised by 
the wise. In every age and among all nations there 
have been impostors, who have duped the ignorant 
by mysterious practices, and boasted of a familiar in- 
tercourse with, and influence over superior spirits. 
The Samojedes as well as the Chinese, the Lapland- 
ers as well as the civilized Europeans, have their 
magicians and enchanters. The cause of this gen- 
eral delusion is easily to be traced in the history of 
human understanding. 

Ignorant and barbarous nations believe all nature 
to be animated. Every where they suppose spirits 
and demons, as the authors of the natural phenome- 
na. Wherever they perceive motion, they suspect a 
moving soul. This general belief proceeds from a 
too extensive idea of analogy. We live and have 
sensation. The reason of our motion often proceeds 
from within ourselves, and the manner of our acting 
depends greatly upon our own determination. — 
Whether other things are also animated, we have 
first to learn from long and repeated experiments ; 
when, therefore, man in a natural state perceives in 
other objects such motions, or effects produced by 
them, as proceed within himself from sense and re- 
flection, he thinks that, with equal right, he must 



assign to those objects, sense and a moving soul : 
for as it is natural to man to explain unknown things, 
-from others wherewith he is acquainted ; so the sav- 
age, as long as he is ignorant of the nature of things, 
will endeavor to form an idea of them, from his own 
sensations. Hence the visible form assigned to the 
soul, to spirits, and even to God himself. Hence the 
sensual ideas of the future state and happiness. 
Hence the revenge against inanimate but noxious 
objects, the plaintive addresses of poets and lovers 
to rocks, rivers and groves, and the conversation we 
often unknowingly hold with inanimated things. No 
wonder, therefore, that untutored reason considers 
all nature as animated. But since the effects and 
impressions of natural things are either pleasant or 
hurtful, or neither of them, the spirits who are be- 
lieved to possess them, are either good or bad or of 
a middling class. Even the evil spirits are worship- 
ped to prevent them from doing mischief. And as 
the ideas which ignorant men form of these spirits, 
are borrowed from their own nature, and perceiving, 
that mere addresses to those spirits are sometimes 
without success, they contrive all kind of ceremonies 
to render their prayers and imprecations more pow- 
erful ; and if by chance their wishes are accomplish- 
ed, during the performance cf those ceremonies, or 
immediately after them, they are looked upon as in- 
fallible charms. Where this superstition has once 
taken possession of the human mind, there it is not 
difficult for self-interest and fraud to support and to 
encourage it. Hence, among savage nations, the 
many enchanters, who pretend to cure diseases by 



4 

charms, to foretell future events, to expel evil spir- 
its, to enjoy a familiar intercourse with supernatural 
beings, and to possess the power to make them ap- 
pear at their own pleasure. For the practice of con- 
juring ghosts and dead persons, we may account in 
the following manner. 

Men are possessed of a natural instinct of prying 
into futurity. This inclination is the stronger, the 
less they are acquainted with the connexion and con- 
sequences of things, and the more they are compel* 
led by their present wants to think of the future. 
Barbarous nations are endowed with a strong imagina- 
tion, and are incapable of distinguishing the sports of 
fancy from real sensations. This is the reason, that 
they consider dreams and the paroxysms of fevers, as 
real perceptions of the senses, and that they look up- 
on lunatics, as being divinely inspired. Thus con- 
stituted, they mistake imaginary ideas of future 
events, for true representations, and are induced to 
believe that by these means supernatural beings re- 
veal to them the secrets of futurity. And since this 
state of mind, or a lively imagination, is excited by 
narcotic vapours, by heavy exercise of the body, by 
drums and by other stupifying noise, they think that 
in this manner the spirits are forced to appear. Self- 
interest or enthusiasm are soon prompted to a pre- 
tended skill in this art. Deceit moulds it into a sci- 
entific system, and in order to render it more vener- 
able and lucrative, conceals it carefully from the 
eye of the vulgar and attaches to the initiation into 
it the most difficult and terrifying ceremonies. Thus 
magic receives a mysterious appearance. 



The general prevalence of this practice among" 
savage nations is, alone, a sufficient proof against the 
opinion of those who assert that the art of magic is 
of divine origin, and revealed by God himself to our 
first parents. 

Concerning the magic of the Chaldeans, we have 
but few ancient and certain accounts ; for the tradi- 
tions respecting it, mentioned by some authors, who 
wrote in the fourth and fifth century of the christian 
era, are subject to doubt. However, from what we 
are able to collect, it appears, that they believed, 
that the gods had frequent intercourse with men ; 
that they admitted of good and evil spirits, and final- 
ly, that they ascribed to certain herbs a power of pro- 
ducing magical effects. For this purpose they also 
employed talismans or theraphims. The Chalde- 
ans worshipped the celestial bodies as principal dei- 
ties ; and as all nations had the custom to accommo- 
date magic to their religion and theology, we may, 
with some degree of certainty conclude, that among 
the Chaldeans, the stars were chiefly employed in 
magical practices. 

The ancient Persians were particularly renowned 
for their skill in magic. From them it derives its 
name ; but this is no proof that they were the first in- 
ventors of this practice ; for, as we have already men- 
tioned, it is common to all barbarous nations. It is 
however highly probable that Zoroaster, the reform- 
er of their religion, was also the first who gave to the 
art of magic a scientific form. The Persians did not 
blend so much of astrology with magic as the Chal- 
deans ; but like these, they believed in various kinds 
&f demons, in apparitions of deities and ghosts, in in- 



spirations, prophetic extasies and portensions. They 
ascribed to certain forms of prayer, to certain sacri- 
fices and drugs, an enchanting power. The adepts 
distinguished themselves by a peculiar and a severe 
diet. They abstained from wine, from animal food 
and from matrimonial commerce. This they did ei- 
ther to acquire an higher eclat of sanctity, or because 
they were persuaded that such a manner of living 
was required, to be admitted to an intercourse with 
superior beings, and best suited to their rapturous 
profession. 

What Philostratus, in his biography of Apollonius, 
relates respecting the magical practices of the Bra- 
mins, is certainly exaggerated. From what we know 
of their religious opinions, it is evident that in point 
of magic they little differ from the above mentioned 
nations. Like the Chaldeans and Persians, they pre- 
dict future events by inspiration, cure the sick by the 
influence of spirits, and make use of charms. 

Moses is the most ancient writer, who makes men- 
tion of Egyptian magic. He tells us that the magi- 
cians of Egypt transformed a rod into a serpent, the 
water of the Nile into blood, and that they produced 
a mighty host of frogs. From this narration it is ev- 
ident that the Egyptian enchanters pretended to trans- 
mute natural things and to produce living creatures 
by the power of magic. This circumstance is a proof 
of the great antiquity of Egyptian magic ; for to such 
prodigies of enchantment a nation does not proceed 
at once. It is a resource to recover authority, wher 
the art of curing the sick and of foretelling future e- 
vents, has sunk into discredit. 






The Egyptians believed in good and evil spirits, and 
considered the latter as the authors of all kind oi dis- 
eases, against which they employed talismans and 
amulets. 

They combined astrological calculations with the 
study of astronomy : The Egyptians, says Herodot, 
anxiously inquire, which day is sacred to particular 
deities ? what will be the lot of a man that is born on 
a certain day ? of what sickness he is to die ? &c. — 
Having observed that the celestial bodies have a ma- 
terial influence on the seasons and atmosphere, they 
extended their power over the whole creation, and in 
particular over the vicissitudes of human life. 

Some of the laws of Moses are expressedly intend- 
ed to counteract this Egyptian superstition ; for the 
Israelites were too prone to imbibe the religious no- 
tions of their masters. From them they derived 
witches, enchanters and necromancers. Moses for- 
bids to inquire of the dead, and to observe times 
which relate to the astrological notion, that some un- 
dertakings meet with better success on particular 
days, and that they could learn from the stars which 
days promised most favorable. They assigned also 
a supernatural power to certain numbers and geo- 
metrical figures. Seeing that many things, after a 
certain number of years, months or days, came to an 
end, that diseases arrived to a crisis at a certain 
time, and that at certain periods many things were 
renewed, they were induced to believe that in these 
very numbers exists a magical power. An error, 
which is still prevailing in our days among the com- 
mon people. 

B 



8 

Respecting the magic of the Greeks, some mention 
is made in the works of Homer. His heroes visit 
the most reputed oracles, in order to consult the 
manes of their departed friends and ancestors. And 
even Orpheus, long before him, had consulted such 
an oracle of the dead, concerning his wife Euridice. 
According to the mythology of Homer, certain im- 
precations possessed the virtue to stop the blood, and 
what is still more astonishing, the form of men was 
changed into that of brutes, by the power of certain 
poisonous herbs and the touch of the magical wand. 
Circe and Medea are condemned to eternal infamy 
by the ancient writers, for their crimes and enchant- 
ments. And even Orpheus, Amphion, Museus and 
Zalmoxis, are renowned in ancient history, as power- 
ful enchanters. 

The ancient Greeks, like all other uncivilized na- 
tions, derived every disaster and disease immediate- 
ly from the gods. To their immediate influence 
they attributed every power of superior genius. The 
gods* in their opinion, had not only introduced a- 
mong them, different arts and sciences, but they had 
even condescended to be their instructors. Every 
noble and sublime thought was therefore considered 
by them as an infusion by some divine being. Thus, 
it'is no wonder that the Grecians contrived early 
means, to procure the favour and assistance of their 
deities. During the Persian wars, the name of ma- 
gic became distinguished in Greece. Pythagorus 
and his disciples, were great magicians, who aimed 
at a familiar intercourse with the gods, cured dis- 
eases by enchantment, conversed with ghosts, and 
ascribed to certain numbers and geometrical figures 



9 

a secret supernatural virtue. Osthanes, a Persian, 
made the Greeks acquainted with the whole magical 
system of his nation, on which he had written an ex- 
tensive work. In this book he speaks repeatedly of 
sympathy and antipathy, chimeras, which are natu- 
rally cherished by people who are unacquainted with 
the true nature of things. 

Democritus has by many authors been ranked a- 
mong magicians, but without foundation. He was 
rather averse to that futile art, altho' he maintained 
certain secret powers in natural phenomena, the 
cause of which he was not yet able to perceive. — 
With more right is Epidocles deserving of that name, 
as being the first among the Greeks, who brought 
the spirits under two classes, dividing them in good 
and evil spirits. The mysteries were not only a 
great support to magic, but they also gave to it a 
new and more shining appearance. Altho' the origin 
of these sacred institutions is uncertain, yet they are 
unquestionably of a very ancient date, for Triptolo- 
irieus and Orpheus are said to have been initiated 
in them. Some Writers have even considered the 
latter as the author of these secret rites, but it is 
more probable that they existed already before his 
time, and that they merely were reformed by himaPn 
In the early ages of the Grecian nation, these reli- 
gious establishments seem to have been of little re- 
nown, but afterwards they became more famous, in 
particular in the time of Pythagorus and his followers. 
It was the chief object of these institutions to enter 
into a familiar communication with superior beings 
and to perform magical operations by their assist- 
ance j for it was generally believed, that spirits and 



10 

ghosts and even the gods immediately appeared at 
the summons of the adept. In the higher mysteries, 
every initiated received his peculiar genius who at- 
tended and assisted him in all his undertakings. — 
However trifling and absurd the ceremonies and rules 
of these institutions originally might have been, with 
the rise of philosophy they received a more rational 
form. Now it became the chief duty of the initiated 
to lead a pure and holy life, and gradually to raise the 
mind above the influence of the body, or with other 
words, to become visionaries. This gave rise to 
mystic philosophy among the Greeks and to the dis- 
tinction between popular and philosophic magic. — 
This latter kind became very famous immediately 
before the time of Alexander. Socrates spoke with 
delight of his genius, and his disciple, Plato, gave to 
philosophy a form altogether favorable to enthusiasm 
and visionary notions. In order to render the belief 
in genii more plausible, he asserted, that the gods 
were too far exalted above men, to admit of any 
communication between them. Hence he draws the 
inference, that there must be spirits of a middling 
kind, who convey the prayers and sacrifices of* men 
bgfcre the gods, and vice -versa the commands and 
promises of the gods to men. By their ministry, he 
says, all vaticinations are pronounced, all sacrifices 
hallowed, and all consecrations and enchantments ef- 
fected. Thus Plato adhered to the popular creed, 
dressing it merely in a more philosophic garb. Even 
to certain numbers, he assigned great and supernat- 
ural virtue, and it was his opinion that a certain defi- 
nite number of citizens greatly contributed to the 



11 

welfare of empires. In the reign of Alexander, a- 
nother Osthanes arrived, who fascinated the Greeks 
still more with Persian magic, while Berosus instruct- 
ed them in astrology and the use of the horoscope. 
The latter established a school on the Isle of Cos, 
and the Athenians erected a statue in his honor, 
which shews how greatly his magical talents were 
admired. 

Under these circumstances, sound reason had to 
struggle with many and obstinate difficulties, and all 
Greece would have been lost in a maze of supersti- 
tion, if this growing evil had not been checked by 
the rational efforts of their eminent philosophers. — 
Aristotle admitted of no other spiritual beings of in- 
ferior rank but the moving principles of the celesti- 
al bodies. All other spirits he denied, and conse- 
quently the possibility of magical operations. Epi- 
curus disbelieved all divine concerns in human af- 
fairs, and of course every thing relating to magic. 

During the reign of Ptolomy Philadelphus, the 
art of magic arrived to the highest pitch. The situ- 
ation of Alexandria, so favorable to commerce, and 
the desolations of a destructive war, had invited a 
great number of people, from all nations and reli- 
gions, to settle in that city, where they amalgamated 
their superstitious notions in one stupendous mass : 
at the same time the caballa originated in Egypt, or 
it was rather reduced into a more scientific form. 

The Jews, forever fond of signs and wonders, and 

encouraged by the example of their prophets, who 

maintained a familiar intercourse with the Supreme 

Being, grasped with eagerness after every suitable 

B 2 



12 

ingredient for the aggrandizement of their magical 
system. From their own magical forms and cere- 
monies, from the magic of Egypt and Greece, and 
from the philosophy of Pythagorus and Plato, they 
formed a monstrcus system, exceeding that of all 
other nations, and including ail the chimeras of as- 
trology, the dreams of the Pythagoreans and Platon- 
ics, and the enchanting forms and ceremonies which 
were in vogue among the common people. Thus 
the practice of magic became gradually more gener- 
al. But it was not this popular kind alone that ex- 
tended itself. The study of its higher branch, or of 
mystic and philosophical magic, was pursued with 
the same ardour. It was the sole object of the for- 
mer to procure the assistance of superior beings, for 
certain purposes, while it was the aim of the latter to 
rise by degrees to the sight of God and superior spir- 
its, and to the intrinsic knowledge of natural things ; 
on which account Plato met with general applause. 

This kind of mystic theology was, and is still no 
where to be found in an higher degree, than in In- 
dostan. In a country where the imagination of the 
inhabitants is exceeding powerful, where the wants 
of nature are easily supplied, and where an oppres- 
sive heat inclines the body to rest and ease, there the 
soul is gradually abstracted from the senses and ab- 
sorbed in itself. There the mind takes delight in 
undisturbed rest, sinks into quietism, and considers 
the contemplation of naught, and corporeal and men- 
tal inactivity, as its highest good. In this situation, 
prolific fancy is incessantly employed to create strong 
illusions, which are mistaken by the passive mind 



13 

for real facts. In this ecstatic state, the soul fancies 
to be elevated to the presence of God and the com- 
pany of supernatural beings. This mystical philos- 
ophy, known by the name of theosophy, when intro- 
duced into the Jewish and Christian religious sys- 
tems, became a source of many absurd and fatal no- 
tions. 

From the ancient history of the Romans, it appears^ 
that they practised magic from the very beginning of 
their existence as a nation. Numa Pompilius con- 
sulted the oracles of the gods, and one of the laws 
of the twelve tables forbids conjuring the fruits of 
the field, and another prohibits the singing of en- 
chanting hymns. The Romans probably derived this 
magical practice from the Sabine s and Etruscans, in 
particular from the latter, who were a very supersti- 
tious people, of which they gave an evident proof, by 
writing the words arse verse, on the doors of their 
houses, to avert the danger of fire. 

As it was the custom of the Romans to adopt the 
gods of the conquered nations, so it was natural to 
them to imitate their magical practices; for magic is 
every where founded on the national religion from 
which it originated. Ennius inveighs against astrol- 
ogers and Egyptian fortune-tellers, but notwithstand- 
ing his remonstrances, the Romans adhered to their 
superstition, and no sooner were they freed by his 
death, from his reproachful remarks, than they in- 
troduced the Thessalian enchanters. For this rea- 
son it was thought necessary to enact laws against 
this practice, among which the law of Sulla, de vene- 



14 

Jicis et Stearns, is particularly notorious. However 
this did not stop the progress of this infatuation, for 
it had found a sanctuary in the palaces of the rich and 
the nobles, so that magic met with more friends in 
Rome than even in Greece. The religion of the 
Romans was more inclined to superstition, the secret 
books of their priests containing various methods 
and rules for compelling the gods to make their ap- 
pearance, and in their ancient history are related 
many miracles performed by their priests and augurs. 
The Romans were also more tenacious, than the 
Greeks, of the religious ceremonies of their ances- 
tors ; and finally, philosophy found not so ready ac- 
cess in Rome, as in Greece^ and was fostered only 
by a few individuals. 

Some of the first emperors published severe laws 
against magic, but others again encouraged this 
practice by their own example. Thus it was impos- 
sible to put a stop to this popular frenzy, and even 
the punishments which were sometimes publicly in- 
flicted on professed offenders, seem rather to have 
had a tendency to spread it more at large. Pliny, in 
his natural history, complains often of the common 
folly of his age, and takes particular notice of many 
"magical practices prevailing in his time. 

Simon Magus and Apollonius of Tyana, are brand- 
ed in christian church history as notorious magi- 
cians. However the latter did not belong to the com- 
mon class ; despising the appearance of mercenary 
views, he applied to the study of mystical magic. — 
The Basilidians ? Carpocratians, the Gnostics and 



15 

Ophites, cherished magical notions. And even the 
fathers of the primitive christian church, did not de- 
ny the power of magic, although they opposed it, as 
an infernal practice. 

The New-Platonics promoted the study of magic 
in an astonishing manner, from the beginning of the 
third century to the time of Constant'ne the great. 
At that time they began to reduce mystical magic in- 
to a regular system, in which they were assisted by 
christian doctors. So much were they taken with 
their whim, that they forged some books under the 
name of ancient Sages, e. g. Oracula Caldaica, Ciavi- 
cula Salomonis, Sec. 

Plotin pretended to be an adept in magic. At a 
time when a necklace was stolen from a lady, he 
pointed out the thief from among the present domes- 
tic servants, who immediately confessed his guilt.-— 
He had a genius with whom he conversed in a famil- 
iar style, and pretended to have demons at his com- 
mand. Four times, says his biographer Porphyrius, 
he was admitted to the immediate presence and vis- 
ion of God. This is at present the last and highest 
aim of magic. In the beginning, when men believed 
in many divinities and demons, without rank or sub- 
ordination, the conjurer contented himself with the 
assistance and favor of any of these deities or spirits, 
but after they were classed in different ranks, he 
courted the friendship of the most powerful, and fi- 
nally, when the inferior spirits were subordinated to 
one Supreme Being, it became tiie last and absolute 
end of magic, to enter into a close communion with 



16 

God himself, in order to operate wonders by his im- 
mediate influence. 

The followers of Plotin brought the system of their 
master still to higher perfection. Porphyr, in order 
to make the distinction between popular and mystic- 
al magic more apparent, maintained that some mag- 
ical operations were performed by the assistance of 
good spirits, but others by the aid of evil spirits. To s 
the former he gave the honorable name of Theurgy, 
but the latter he called Geoty. From both sorts he 
distinguished Theosophy, by which he understood a 
the highest felicity and purest knowledge of things, 
produced by an immediate tuition of God, to which 
man arrived only by purity of heart and an entire ab- 
straction of the mind from all other ideas. 

Constantine and Constans published severe laws a- 
gainst geoty, condemning all to the stake who were 
found guilty of this crime ; but they indulged the- 
urgy. Herein they were followed by the council. — 
However, this precaution had not the designed effect 
of exterminating this detestable superstition. It re- 
ceived new vigor during the reign of Julian the a- 
postate, who was infected with this delirium in the 
school of the New-Platonics. This prince was so 
great an admirer of that art, that he wandered from 
place to place in search of old temples, where, with 
{ear and trembling, he witnessed the awful scene of 
compelling gods and ghosts to make their appear- ■ 
ance. Iamblious, a disciple of Porphyr, concerning 
whom many strange stories are told by his followers, 
was also a zealous defender of this science. There 
exists a book under his name, treating of the Egyp- 1 



17 

tian mysteries, which gives the most correct account 
o£ the doctrine of the New-Platonic school, respect- 
ing magic and theurgy. After his time, theurgy and 
theosophy, or a familiar intercourse with God him- 
self, and consequently, the art of foretelling future e- 
vents and of performing wonders, was considered as 
the chief design of all Platonic philosophy. Philos- 
ophy being thus corrupted by magic, the contagion 
easily spread to other sciences. 

The art of physic, in particular, became contami- 
nated with this fatal poison. Although Galen had 
employed all reasonable means to free his noble pro- 
fession from magical practices, still his endeavours 
were of little avail against the obstinacy of ignorance, 
and the pliancy of credulity. Marcellus, Empirieus, 
Actius, Alexander, and a numerous host of quacks, 
prescribed the most absurd cures, and overpowered 
by their gasconades the voice of sound reason, 
! which dictated a method of healing, founded on max- 
ims derived from the nature, as well of the diseases 
as of the medicines to be employed for their cure. — 
Nothing was more common in those times than to 
kill men, with a view to practice magical operations 
with their intestines. It was then, that they began 
to speak of covenants with the devil, and of noctur- 
nal assemblies of witches at certain appointed places. 
However the Jewish tradition of carnal commerce 
between spirits or angels, and females of the human 
species, is of an earlier date. The same age gave 
rise to what is properly called, mystical theology, and 
which is distinguished merely in name from theur- 
gy. The fact is this : There were many who, tho* 
they professed Christianity, were still zealous adher- 



18 

enis of the philosophy of Plato, and who, from a pre- 
deliction for their old system, endeavoured to model 
the doctrines of the christian religion, in a form cor- 
responding with the principles of Plato. Such weak 
and enthusiastic persons, were often induced by fear, 
in troublesome times, to resort to desert places.— 
Here they aimed at a particular degree of holiness, 
and waited for the accomplishment of the promises 
which, in sacred writ, are given to those who do not 
conform to the world, but sequestrate themselves 
from it. They believed to obtain this sanctity by 
fasting, mortifications and a rigorous discipline. — 
Thus with a corrupted imagination, they contrived a 
method, to draw nigh to God, to be admitted to his 
intuitive presence and the communion of angels. 

It was the opinion of the theurgists, that by certain 
forms of prayer, ceremonies, sacrifices and a holy 
life, they could compel the Supreme Being, as well as 
the demons, to illuminate them with superior light, 
while christian mystics, more modestly left it to di- 
vine option, to whom he would condescend and grat- 
ify with his vision. Thus, both agreed, that a certain 
method is to be observed to arrive to the communion 
with God and angels, and the precepts prescribed for 
that purpose by both parties, are almost of the same 
stamp. They require abstinence^ fasting, a severe 
diet, solitude, prayers, vigils and divine contempla- 
tion. Finally, the aim of both is the same, namely, to 
be transported to a vision of God's majestic glory, 
and of angels in their shining robes. 

Dionysius Areopagita, in the fifth century of the 
christian era, brought this kind of mystic into a regu 
lar system. 



19 

The noted conformity in the maxims and rules o£ 
magicians, theurgists and mystics arises from the 
same natural cause. They all agree that no spirits 
can be seen by means of the external senses, or at 
least that in such a case, the communication between 
the natural and spiritual world cannot be lasting. To 
arrive to a continual intercourse with superior spirits, 
is, in their opinion, a different way prescribed, devi- 
ating from the common course of life. Something 
must be unhinged in the organic system, which only 
can be effected by an uncommon manner of living.-— 
They have therefore recourse either to powerful nar- 
cotic medicines, or to a rigorous diet and a peculiar 
dress. 

Those who make use of the former means, fancy, 
during their intoxication, fury or stupor, to see won- 
derful things, and to be transported to the society of 
the spirits ; but they, who follow the latter method, 
corrupt forever the faculty of imagination, by an ex- 
travagant diet. The debilitated body and enervated 
senses become a receptacle of all kinds of strange 
forms and ideas, and at last the infatuated mortal be- 
lieves really to perceive, what he wishes to see. — 
From this it plainly appears, what is the reason, that 
by all kind of magic that ever has prevailed among 
mankind, either of these means have been employed ; 
the former chiefly among barbarous nations, but the 
latter among men in a more civilized state. This is 
also the reason, why all barbarous nations, and even 
the Greeks and Romans, attributed the art of vatici- 
nation to a kind of fury, and that in ancient maeic, 
drugs and herbs were made use of, as means to sum- 
mon the gods, to change the form of men, and to 

C 



20 

make them fiy through the air. This is finally the 
cause, why in Liter times, lasting, a monastic life, 
abstinence and vigils are recommended as the prop- 
er method of obtaining* supernatural visions. 

From the general tendency of human nature to su- 
perstitious notions, we are inclined to suppose, that 
the inhabitants of western Europe, have been ac- 
quainted with the practice of magic, long before they 
had any communication with the Romans. This con- 
jecture is confirmed by the testimony of the most cel- 
ebrated historians of that age. Pliny asserts that the 
ancient Britons were much addicted to magic, and 
Strabo, as well as Tacitus, give us some account of 
the enchantments prevailing among the Germans. — 
It is also certified by the same authority, that the 
Druids of the Gauls ascribed to some herbs a super- 
natural power which, in their opinion, was increased 
by the influence of the moon. From the time of the 
forementioned authors to the eighth century, we find 
little on record, concerning the state of magic among 
those nations. This silence in history, may be attri- 
buted, either to the prevailing ignorance of those a- 
ges, or to the presumption of the monks, the only 
writers of those times, who either supposed excom- 
munication a sufficient barrier against that supersti- 
tion, or who thought it improper to defile themselves 
with that infernal wickedness. However we find a- 
gain some traces of this practice in the fourth cen- 
tury, when the Franks, the Westrogoths and Ostro. 
goths published laws against it. In the sixth cen- 
tury two women accused of witchcraft were publicly 
burnt. The Saracens, who conquered Spain in the 
eighth century, introduced the art of magic, with 



21 

other sciences in that country. They had borrowed 
their philosophy from the Greeks, and although they 
proposed Aristotle to be their master ; still they ex- 
plained his system, according to New-Platonic prin- 
ciples. In this manner Spain became acquainted 
with a mixture of theosophical philosophy and popu- 
lar magic, in which they were chiefly supported by 
the authority of Avicenna. And even at Salamanca 
and Toledo, were public lessons given in the art of 
magic, in caverns appropriated for that purpose. 

Humanity shudders at the horrid scenes, exhibited 
during the reign of Charlemagne, when a great num- 
ber of pretended witches were condemned to the pile 
by superstitious fury. Since the introduction of A- 
rabic literature all western Europe seemed to be en- 
chanted. Britons, Franks and Germans read with 
avidity Arabic authors and imbibed from them, the 
chimerical notions of theurgic or mystical and popu- 
lar magic. Even learned divines applied to the stu- 
dy of the former with great eagerness, after the works 
of Dionysius Areopagita had been translated into the 
Latin language, by John Scotus Engena. This branch 
of magic obtained particular high ?oithorky in the 
thirteenth century. It was in the same age that first 
mention is made of certain contracts, entered into 
with the prince of darkness, and signed with human 
blood, by which one party bound himself to renounce 
the christian religion, under condition to procure 
from the other party infernal assistance. At the 
same time, an he goat was placed in the chair instead 
of an old woman, to preside in the assembly of witch- 
es. Amulets, philacteria and enchanting ceremonies 



22 

received another form. In the place of the rites bor- 
rowed from pagan superstition, others were substi- 
tuted, more corresponding with the christian religion. 
Since that time, magic branched out in three different 
branches. The first was founded on a contract with 
Satan. The second on astrological notions, on sym- 
pathy and antipathy, and on the power of some words 
and ceremonies derived from them, and finally, the 
third on a certain purification of the soul, by which 
they believed to be rendered capable of seeing and 
summoning good spirits and even God himself. In- 
nocent instituted a secret inquisition against heretics 
with a view to keep the church clear from all error 
and schismatics. The inquisitors of that time did 
not yet take notice of witches, leaving their punish- 
ment to the magistrates ; but about the middle of the 
fourteenth century, they placed witchcraft in the cat- 
alogue of heresies and began to burn witches, but the 
more they were persecuted, the more they increased, 
so that magic became a common- subject of discus- 
sion and was so often defended in public writings and 
disputes, that the academy of Paris, was induced to 
put a stop to it by prohibiting all books written on 
i hat subject. 

At the end of the fifteenth century appeared the 
fatal book, called, Nalleus Maleficorum — in which 
the inquisitors endeavour to prove from many instan- 
ces, the existence of infernal magic, mentioning at 
the same time, the manner in which they intended to 
proceed against this wickedness. But in the begin- 
ning of the sixteenth century there arose two learned 
men. John Wierus and Regenaldus Scotus, who de- 



23 

fended with courage, the unhappy women that were 
accused of witchcraft, and showed the impropriety of 
the proceedings of the inquisitors, though they did 
not entirely deny the power of magic. It was not 
before the reform of philosophy that the absurdity of 
magic was exposed. However the light of reason 
advanced but slowly, and Wierus and Scotus were si- 
lenced by the ignorant multitude/ The Cautio Cri- 
menalis of Frederic Spe was more successful, for it 
effected that in many places the procedures against 
witches were discarded. England is greatly indebt- 
ed to Webster for his opposition to this superstition* 
wherein he was soon supported by the noble and 
learned efforts of John Hutchinson. In Holland it 
was attacked in a valiant manner by the keen reason- 
ings of Balthasar Beckker in his Enchanted Worlds 
for which temerity he had to resign his place as min- 
ister in Amsterdam. But it received the severest 
blow from the pen of Christian Thomasius, a native 
of Leipsic, who, to save himself from the intrigues 
of bigotry was obliged to leave his country. How- 
ever he found an asylum in the neighbouring domin- 
ions of the elector of Brandenburgh and became one 
of the first founders of the celebrated university at 
Halle, where he was invested with the professorship 
of philosophy and jurisprudence. 

The fate of these two patriotic philosophers shows 
at once, the dangers attached to such an enterprise and 
the difficulty in destroying that three -headed monster. 

D. Bekker mentions many cases of pretender! witch- 
craft happening in his time, not only in popish but 
even in protestant countries. Among the latter, the 

C % 



24 

instance of an old woman in the west of England, de- 
serves particular notice, as being certified by the 
rector of the parish, a non-conformist minister, two 
church officers and two constables. Even the dra- 
matic muse of Shakespeare, so fond of witches and 
apparitions of ghosts, bears witness of the spirit that 
prevailed in his time, although she proves nothing 
against the sound principles of the bard. The same 
spirit seems to have accompanied the emigrants from 
Europe to this western country. The fatal infatua- 
tion, which about that time raged with unrelenting 
fury in some parts of New-England, is known to ev- 
ery reader of American history. 

The seventeenth century seems to have been ex- 
ceedingly favourable to magical pursuits, and in par- 
ticular to its higher branches, theurgy and theosophy. 
It was in the beginning of this age that the famous 
Rosicrucian order was established, consisting chiefly 
of members of the medical profession, who are said 
to have been skilled in alchymy and in possession of 
the philosopher's stone. About the same time the 
Aurora of Jacob Bochme was published. So well 
was this jargon received by the public, that it was 
soon translated in most all modern languages and 
followed by a number of similar effusions from that 
enthusiastic fountain. From the mystical works of 
that man, it is presumed, that George Fox and Rob- 
ert Barclay, have drawn the leading principles of 
their new sect. The same visionary shades were 
pursued by John Labadie, Anna Maria Schurman, 
Antoinette Bourignon and others, who disturbed 
France, Flanders, the Netherlands and Germany with 
their turbulent notions » 



25 

The eighteenth century is by some styled the age 
of reason. And indeed, the light prepared by the il- 
lustrious genius of Locke, Sir Isaac Newton, Leib- 
nitz and Wolff burst forth, at the dawn of this age, 
with uncommon splendor. But modern history and 
our own experience afford us sufficient proof, that 
all the efforts of those champions for sound reason- 
ing, supported by the labours of Euler, Semler, 
Kant, and others, have not been so successful, as could 
be expected, in dispelling the superstitious gloom, 
which hung, and is still hovering over the human 
mind. Emanuel Swcdenborg, a Swedish nobleman, 
believing to have enjoyed a personal appearance of 
the Lord, became in the beginning of this age, the 
founder of a sect of visionaries, which has branched 
out to this side of the Atlantic. The notions of John 
Labadie, are said to have still strenuous advocates in 
Holland, England, Scotland and America. That this 
is fact, with respect to the last mentioned country is 
liable to little doubt ; for as liberty of conscience 
proves the excellency of our constitution, so it has 
eventually shown, to what extravagancies human 
reason may proceed, in the instance of Jemima 
Wilkenson and a number of enthusiasts, whose wild 
flights we daily witness. 

The theurgists of the eighteenth century often 
condescended to the practice of magic of the popu- 
lar kind. Cagleostro was at the same time an al- 
chymist and necromancer, and Schroepher and Pater . 
Gassner were of the same stamp. The last mention- 
ed Ex-Jesuit had even the address to impose upon 
the learned and pious author of the famous essay on 



26 

physiognomy, and Lavater undertook to defend Gass- J 
ner and his miracles in a work written for that pur- 
pose under the title of An Essay on Miraculous 
Faith. 

As the present century is deemed to surpass all 
former ages in philosophical knowledge, so the in- 
habitants of the United States of America are often 
styled in public print, the most enlightened nation f 
o.n earth. Although the latter assertion may be 
granted, with regard to the knowledge of their 
political rights and of matters relating to them, still f 
in many other respects experience forbids us to give 
it our general assent. What must we think, when 
we see, that many thousands suffer themselves to be 
led away and bewildered by visionary and extrava- 
gant notions, contrary to the dictates of sound rea- 
son and revealed truth I What must we say to the 
accounts industriously circulated of transports, vis- 
ions and apparitions of good and evil spirits ? What 
must we feel, when we are informed that in other 
accounts respectable people, resort to the closet of a 
fortune-teller to have a secret discovered or their 
fortune told? What must we say, to the miraculous, 
cures performed by wonder-doctors, to the fees paid 
to conjurers and to the charms employed in the most 
fatal distempers of man and beast I Even magic of 
the coarsest kind has not entirely discontinued among 
us. The power of Satan and of demons is generally 
believed to be as efficacious as in time of old, and 
witches are suspected in many cases and places. — 
Even while I am writing this, we are amused with a 
tale of witchcraft in our neighbourhood, against which 



> 27 

nil contradiction is in vain. The people will have it 
that stones are thrown in the enchanted house by an 
invisible hand, and that the wanting sausages are 
pilfered by marauding fiends. Well may we say 
with the ancients : The history of man, is the history 
of human follies. 

From the preceding account, it appears as clear 
as the light cf day, that ail belief in communications 
between spirits and men, and in supernatural opera- 
tions performed by spiritual assistance ; all stories of 
visions, of apparitions of ghosts and witchcraft, all 
pretensions to a prescience of future accidents, and 
to a knowledge of real secrets ; all accounts of suc- 
cessful experiments in alchymy ; of enchantments 
and conjurations, and of cures effected by charms or 
sympathy are founded in ignorance, and supported 
by deceit. Notwithstanding this evident fact, these 
superstitious notions have found friends and advo- 
cates in every age and among ail nations, not only a- 
mong the vulgar, but also among the higher ranks of 
society, and even among the learned by profession. 
And as with the regard to the latter class, we may 
reasonably suppose, that their opinions should be 
founded on more plausible grounds, than on mere 
tradition ; we will examine into the validity of their 
arguments, in favor of supernatural magic or witch- 
craft, stating at the same time what may be reasona- 
bly advanced against them. The controversy on this 
subject, may be reduced under the following three 
questions : — 

1 . Is it possible that supernatural beings can affect 
men, or enable them to perform supenmtural op- 
erations ? And allowing this to be practicable, 



28 

2. Is there any probability of such an intercourse be- , 
tween the spiritual and natural world ? 

3. Arc there any undeniable proofs of the real exis- 
tence of witchcraft, and other magical practices ? 
Although it is common in philosophy to begin all 

researches with an inquiry in the possibility of the 
subject under discussion ; still in the case before us 
we forego this question, as unessential and of no im- 
portance. For all disputes on the absolute possibili- 
ty of magic, the proofs on both sides are of equal 
weight. And to ascertain its relative possibility, our 
knowledge of the spiritual and corporeal world, of 
the dark windings of pneumatology and the natural 
elements is not adequate. Besides, this question is 
altogether immaterial to our purpose. We may ad- 
mit the possibility of any thing, which is neither prob- 
able nor real. All the figures and data of geometers 
are possible magnitudes ; but we all know, that they 
never can really exist. We may grant, therefore, 
the possibility of witchcraft, and still maintain, that 
witches never have existed. This maxim we follow 
in common life, for we act not upon possibilities ; 
but upon probability and fact. According to the 
principles of some metaphysics, the soul of the fa- 
mous Emanuel Swedenborg could be in Sirius, while 
his body was walking in the streets of Stockholm ; 
but it is not at all likely that this visionary should 
have wandered through the heavenly spheres. From 
the writings of this man, and in particular from the. 
book that bears the title, De Conjugio Coeli, it is plain 
that all his visions, were sports of his deranged fan- 
cy. And still we find that the proofs, which are com- 
monly used in support of witchcraft, chiefly depend 






29 

on its possibility. The advocates for witchcraft rea* 
son nearly in the following curious manner : It is 
possible, that there exist spirits of a superior nature, 
than that of the human soul ; among these spirits 
there may be some of an evil disposition, who per- 
haps are capable of acting upon matter. It may be 
that these spirits surpass man on natural knowledge, 
and possess the power of forming the image of a dead 
man from air, and to make it appear at the command 
of the magician. Who knows whether it is not in 
their power to produce distempers among men and 
brutes, and even thunder, lightning and hailstorms ? 
Could not an evil spirit of high rank be able to form 
a wax figure, and to provide it with the sympathetic 
quality, by which the blows that are given to it, are 
felt by the man whom it is designed to represent ? 
But it is too tedious to repeat all the may bes and 
fierha/ises) wherewith the brain of credulity is stored. 
On the same principles we may prove, that there are 
Euclids, Lockes and Newtons, among the Hottentots, 
Eskemaux and Newzealanders, or that the mermaids 
who are supposed to be good singers, form a concert 
at the bottom of the ocean. But superstition does 
not stop even here. The annals of magic give us 
many serious accounts of wonderful operations, dia- 
metrically opposed to the dictates of sound reason, 
and the established laws of nature. Here we are in- 
formed that the devil is possessed of the power of 
changing a man into a wolf, without changing their 
respective nature, although the wounds inflicted on 
the animal are perceived on the same part of the hu- 
man body ; which is as impossible, as that a triangle 



30 

should be at the same a circle. Here we are told 
that magicians have penetrated through closed doors, 
that they have made themselves invisible, and other 
fine stories of the same caliber. The cause of all this 
nonsense is no other than ignorance and a total want 
of knowledge of natural philosophy. 

We proceed to the second question : Is there any 
reason to suppose that supernatural operations can 
be produced by the agency of spirits ? This question 
resolves itself again into three others. 

1. Is it probable that spirits, who are not endowed 
with an organic body, can immediately act upon 
matter ; and, e. g. form a human body from air or 
produce a storm ? 

2. Is it probable that such spirits can immediately af- 
fect the soul, and produce in it such perceptions, 
as otherwise are produced in it by the instrumen- 
tality of the senses only ? 

3. Is it credible that pretended powerful spirits, e. g. 
a Beelzebub or an Adsamelech, or any inferior de- 
mon, should be ready at the command of an old 
woman or a mean fellow, or that they should be 
compelled by some insignificant "words or ceremo- 
nies, to certain desired operations ? 

Whatever idea may be formed of magic or witch- 
craft, it always presupposes, either that spirits act 
upon matter, and really produce, when commanded 
by the magician, the changes which are perceived 
or that they immediately affect the soul and create in 
it such sensations, as are mistaken for real percep- 
tions of the senses. 

As to the first question, we utterly deny, that there 
exists any probability that spirits without an organic 



31 

body, should be able to act upon matter, for 1st, God 
in his infinite wisdom and goodness, and for the ben- 
efit of his living creatures, has subjected all changes 
in the universe to certain established and invariable 
laws. By these laws the seasons are ruled, and all 
changes in the atmosphere and phenomena in the na- 
tural world are regulated, on which the support of 
animal life and the vegetation of plants depends. If, 
therefore, evil spirits had the power of acting imme- 
diately upon matter, they would be able to prevent 
the laws of nature, to change the seasons and the at- 
mosphere at their own pleasure, and to raise disorder 
and confusion in the visible world, and thus to coun- 
teract all good and benevolent designs of the creator. 
Who will undertake to reconcile such ideas with the 
wisdom and goodness of the Supreme Being ? Let it 
not be said, that although evil spirits have the power 
to disturb the natural order of things, yet they are 
prevented from doing it by the superior power of 
God ; for there is not the least probability that God 
should have allowed them to change his own estab- 
lished laws and to oppose his good and benevolent in- 
tentions. And suppose that God had granted them 
such a power, would he in that case not be obliged to 
arrest it, by a continued series of miracles ? for, if ic 
is a miracle, when God, by his immediate interposition^ 
hinders the natural powers in their operations, then k 
is still a greater miracle, immediately to restrain the 
efforts of spiritual powers. And is there the lease 
ground to suppose, that the Governor of the Universe 
should have placed himself under the degrading ne- 

D 



32 

Cessity to perform continual miracles, in order to pre- 
serve order and to accomplish his ends in the world ? 
2d. If spirits could act upon matter, we should see ma- 
ny strange phenomena in the natural world, deviating 
from the known and established laws of nature. But 
this is not the case. The seasons and changes in the 
atmosphere, storms, rain, hail, snow and wind, pro- 
ceed from natural causes, and continue to obey the 
laws that are prescribed to them ; consequently, it 
is not probable that spirits are possessed of the power 
to interfere in the course of the natural world. 3d. 
In astronomy, we perceive no alterations in the 
established laws and fixed motions of the stars. If 
the devil had it in his power to change an old woman 
into a wolf, he might with the same ease, transform 
our earth, which is a spheroid, into a cube ; but this 
has never entered his head. 4th. If spirits could 
act immediately upon matter, we should have un- 
questionable and certain proofs of their power. If 
Satan is capable of raising the ghost of a dead man, 
it would be an easy matter for him to stop the ball 
of a cannon in its course ; but place an enchanter 
before the mouth of a cannon, and allow him to con- 
jure all the demons to protect him against its force, 
I am convinced that he will humbly confess, that his 
art does not extend so far. It is true there are some 
braggarts, who would fain make us believe, that they 
are able to parry a ball from a gun with their sword. 
They also suffer themselves to be fired at; but in 
this trick Satan has no concern, for it is practised in 
a very natural manner. 



Secondly, is it probable that spirits can affect our 
soul, and produce in it designed sensations ? It was 
the fashion in former ages, to explain witchcraft, 
from an immediate operation of spirits on matter. 
It was then believed that the devil, at the humble re- 
quest of an old woman, changed her into a wolf, and 
that he actually carried the witches on an he goat or 
a broomstick, through the air. At the conjuration 
of a ghost, he formed really a body from air, similar 
to the deceased, or brought the corpse from the grave 
and bestowed on it temporary animation. This was 
the easiest way of philosophizing, as it required no 
serious efforts of the mind. The modern friends and 
patrons of witchcraft, scorning that spindle philoso- 
phy, endeavor to explain it in a more subtile way. 
For this purpose they maintain a kind of illusion, in 
the process of which, however, they do not agree. 
Some assert, that the devil acts upon our organs so 
as to raise in the soul, sensations of optional objects. 
It is known, they say, that the rays of light represent 
the image of the visible objects on the retina, which 
images are perceived by the soul. When, therefore, 
the devil designs to change an old woman into a wolf, 
he does not take the trouble to give to the hag a new 
shape, but he only forms on the membrane of the 
spectator's eye the image of a wolf, instead of that of 
the witch. But does this illusion not presuppose an 
action of the evil spirit on matter ? Are our organs 
no parts of our bodies ? and is not the devil obliged 
to act upon the retina, when he wishes to form an 
image at the bottom of the eye ? And is not the 
membraneous part of the eye a body ? Thus we see 



that the pretended philosophical explanation, is sub- 
ject to the same difficulties, as the forenientioned 
spindle philosophy. Superstition believes, that Satan 
acts immediately on the witch, whom he intends to 
transform into a wolf; but the philosopher maintains 
that the evil spirit merely affects the organs of the 
spectators, in order to produce the designed delu- 
sion. The opinion of both is plainly founded on the 
hypothesis that evil spirits have the power to act up- 
on matter, which, as already demonstrated, is very 
unlikely. 

Other philosophers, convinced of the absurdity of 
this supposition, have attempted to elucidate this il- 
lusion by an immediate action of the spirits on the 
human soul. All sensations are conceptions produ- 
ced in the soul by the organs or rather by the com- 
mon sensorium. If it therefore were in the power of 
a demon, designing to change a man into a wolf or to 
raise a ghost, immediately to produce in the soul 
such ideas, as commonly arise from perceptions of 
sense, then we would readily admit that there exist 
some plausible grounds for the belief in magic and 
witchcraft ; but it is not verisimilar that spirits are 
possessed of this power, or that demons can act upon 
the human soul, so as to produce in it, ideas and sen- 
sations of external objects. This will plainly appear 
from the following demonstrations. 

1 . It has pleased the wise Creator, in order to ex- 
rite sensations in the soul both of animals and men, 
to provide them with proper organs, planned after 
the nicest rules of geometry. If it had been pos- 
sible in the construction of the natural world, to re- 



ceive sensation by the immediate and mutual ac* 
tion of spirits upon one another, to what use were 
then the artificial structure of the eye, the ear, and 
the other organs ? Besides 

2. The actions of men and animals require a cer- 
tainty of sense (certitudo sensuum.) When I see an 
apple, and its touch, taste and smell correspond with 
this perception, then I conclude with certainty that 
it is an apple, and nothing else. This certainty of 
sensation would certainly be lost, if it were possi- 
ble that spirits could produce illusive perceptions, 
immediately in the soul. A fiend could make us 
believe that we were eating sugar, while we were 
actually swallowing poison. Suppose a robber, 
sword in hand, attacks a traveller, with an inten- 
tion to murder him, but he is prevented from the 
perpetration of that horrid crime, and taken pris- 
oner. Suppose the thief, when arrainged in a court 
of justice, pleads not guilty, giving for reason that 
both the traveller and witnesses have been deluded 
by the devil : will any judge in our present age 
admit of such an excuse ? Will he not rather re- 
ject it as deserving no credit ? 

3. If it is true, as we have already demonstrated, 
that spirits cannot act upon matter, then we have the 
same reasons to believe that it is not in their pow- 
er to affect the soul immediately. Bodies consist 
of simple elements. If therefore spirits cannot act 
upon bodies, it follows, that they cannot act upon 
elements. Our souls are likewise mundane ele- 
ments, although their internal design raises them 
above the corporeal elements. If therefore spirits 

D 2 



are not r.ble to act upon the elements of the body, 
then it is not likely that they can affect the interior 
of the soul. 

4. It is known that the forms of the ideas produced 
in the soul by exterior objects, depend upon the 
organism of the eye and the other senses. If 
therefore the devil could produce sensations im- 
mediately in the soul, then it would be possible to 
the blind, when assisted by the devil, to see, and to 
the deaf to hear ; but this has never been the case : 
and therefore it is not at all probable that strange 
spirits should have such a power over our soul. 

These arguments against the immediate influence 
of spirits on the human frame, have appeared so pow- 
erful to some friends of magic and witchcraft, that 
they were obliged to have recourse to another expe- 
dient not less philosophical than the former. In or- 
der to enable the spirits to act upon our organs, and 
to appear to their devotees under any optical form, 
they provided them with subtile aerial bodies. Doc- 
ior Pordage asserts in his divine metaphysics that all 
spirits have bodies, that the bodies of angels are corn- 
nosed of light, but the bodies of devils of black ether. 
Like men, they have heads, hands, feet, and five sen- 
ses. The stomach is placed in the breast, but they 
have no intestines. The bodies are not composed of 
earth, air, water or fire, but they are the quintessence 
of the four elements ; they are not heavy, and al- 
though they are penetrable, they are not subject to 
solubility. The demons can give to their body what 
form they please. They can raise themselves into 
giants or reduce themselves to dwarfs. So that, ac- 



cording to the opinion of this philosopher, the devil 
acts properly on his own body and in this way on our 
organs. However, this doctrine is liable to the two 
following chief objections. 

1. He that advances a position that contradicts 
evident physical and mathematical principles, propo- 
ses a false doctrine. He that would maintain, that 
a circle can have three angles, contradicts himseif 
and is insane. Now it is a fundamental principle 
of natural philosophy, that impenetrability and sep- 
arability are essential qualities of a body ; he there* 
fore who asserts that the devil has a body, which 
js penetrable and at the same time indissoluble, 
maintains that this body is no body, or, which a- 
mounts to the same, that the devil has no body at 
all. 

2. If you attempt to prove that the devil has a body, 
you must do it either by demonstration (a priori) 
or from experience (apostericri.) It would be in 
vain to demonstrate a priori, that the devil is provi- 
ded with a body ; for all our knowledge of what 
really exists, must be derived from experience. — . 
It is true some metaphysics have seriously endea- 
voured to prove, that all spirits must be united to 
a body ; but it is also known to what difficulties and 
objections their reasonings are subject. Thus the 
only proof that remains for this opinion must be 
drawn from experience. But here we are quite 
at a loss, unless we give full credit to all the sto- 
ries related in the assemblies of the spinning room- 
Pordage, indeed, telis us that Satan had honoured 
him with a procession of his whole host, through 



38 

his study room. He even gives us a detailed de- 
scription of this demonical review. They entered, 
says he, through the windows, without breaking a 
single glass, and went out again through the wall. 
Some were oh foot, but others in carriages. But 
he confesses, that he perceived all this by his inte- 
rior senses only, whilst even with closed eyes, he 
could plainly see these legions of devils. He de- 
clares that he could make such experiments only, 
when the sense of the dark principle was open to 
him ; for man, according to his opinion, has three 
different kind of senses. The sense of the princi- 
ple of the terrestrial world, by which he sees the 
bodies and the senses of the world of light and the 
world of darkness. By the former he sees the an- 
gels, and by the latter the devils. But his relations 
resemble so much the dreams of heated imagina- 
tion, that we cannot give more credit to them, 
than to the visions of Swedenborg. 

The third question remains yet to be answered, 
namely : Is it probable that powerful spirits should 
readily obey the summons of a conjurer and execute 
the commands imposed on them. Superstitious peo- 
ple have a very strange idea of the devil. They 
think that the powerful prince of darkness, is able to 
produce lightning, thunder, storms and earthquakes ; 
that it is in his power to lift up and carry men thro' 
the air, and to change a rod into a serpent ; and yet 
they believe that this powerful spirit is deterred by a 
circle from hurting the conjurer, whom it circum- 
scribes. They suppose that the power of Satan can 
be arrested, by unmeaning words, magic characters. 



39 

fish-bone and other trifling things. Thus the devil 
is represented, on one hand as a very powerful and 
crafty being, and on the other hand, as a weak, mis- 
erable and stupid foal. When we take notice of the 
persons, who commonly pretend to conjure evil spir- 
its, and reflect on the means which they generally 
employ to that purpose ; we shall easily be convin- 
ced that all their pretended authority over the spir- 
its, is nothing but a daring imposition. Who are 
the persons that commonly pretend to conjure and to 
command the devil ? Laplanders, who have scarcely 
as much sense as the raindeer that draws their sled ; 
toothless old women, that rather vegitate than breathe ; 
gypsies, strollers, jugglers, quacks and ragamuffins. 
These are the noble cavaliers, that enter the lists 
with Satan, and fancy themselves to be able to compel 
him, by an enchanted drum, or by hocus pocus, to re- 
veal future events, to change the wind at their plea?-- 
sure, to raise them in the air, to produce distempers, 
plague and earthquakes, to assist them in the cure cf 
convulsions, cramps and other diseases ; although 
they cannot force him to furnish them with means to 
satisfy their hunger and to cover their nakedness. 
And what are the means that are employed, to fright- 
en the devil into obedience ? A circle marked with 
chalk, a human skull, forms written in corrupt he- 
brew or other foreign languages, and other instru- 
ments which are not qualified to manage even a dog 
or cat. Is there the least probability that the devil, 
who is supposed to be such a powerful being, should 
suffer himself to be terrified, by such despicable per- 
sons vj\d trifling means, which are more calculated, 



• 






40 

to excite his laughter than his fear ? If that powerful I 
spirit is capable of raising the dead from the grave, I 
and of changing the shape of men, why then does he 
not show his skill unless compelled to it, by those 
miserable manoeuvers ? 

Thus far we have shown, that the practice of ma- 
gic is highly improbable, or that there is not the least 
ground to suppose, that supernatural operations, 
should be performed by the agency of spirits. But 
all the preceding demonstrations would avail us noth- 
ing, if the existence of witchcraft could be proven by 
unquestionable facts. A single instance of the kind, 
sufficiently ascertained, would overthrow all our for- 
mer theory. But I defy all patrons of witchcraft, to 
produce a single fact, wherein spirits have been con- 
cerned. If all stories of witchcraft were duly exam- 
ined and impartially investigated, it would be found j 
that the wonderful operations, which superstition at- 
tributes to the influence of spirits, either proceed 
from natural causes, or that they are a mere cheat 
of designing impostors, or finally that the very stories 
are forged for the amusement of the credulous. To 
prove this to be fact, I shall first make some prepara- 
tory remarks to the history of conjurers, and then pass 
the chief magicians and enchanters in proper review. 
First, it appears from the history of mankind, that 
the more ignorant people are, and the darker the age 
in which they live, the more they are inclined to be- 
lieve in witchcraft, and to deal in fables and marvel- 
lous stories of enchantments and visions. At the 
time of Montezuma, all America was filled with con- 
jurers. Among the Laplanders, Malays, Hottentots. 



. 



41 

\ and the common people in China, witchcraft is a 
common traffic. This was the very case in Europe 
before the time of the reformation. Even in the six- 
teenth and seventeenth century, witches were burnt 
in great numbers. But as soon as the rays of philos- 
lophy began to spread light, the dark gloom of su- 
iperstition disappeared, and all procedures against 
; witchcraft were dismissed in the enlightened parts of 
Europe. At present, it is scarcely any where pub- 
I Hcly countenanced, unless among the lowest class of 
j the people, and in some Popish countries. In Eng- 
land, France, and the greater part of Germany, and 
even in Italy, it has entirely ceased. Is this not a 
plain proof of the folly of witchcraft ? With the pro- 
gress of knowledge and rational inquiry, truth ap- 
pears gradually in a more glowing light. The doc- 
trine of the circulation of the blood, of the gravity of 
the air and the electricity of the clouds, is establish- 
ed beyond the reach of doubt, in spite of all contra- 
diction, and by no other force, than by the power of 
rational experiment. Why then should the present 
philosophers not have been able to penetrate to the 
bottom of witchcraft if it had any ground ? but on the 
contrary, after due examination, they have found it 
to be a castle built in the air without foundation, and 
which must gradually disappear, with the progress 
of the light of reason. Besides many zealous advo- 
cates for witchcraft, like Henry Cornelius Agrippa, 
have at last been convinced of the vanity of this prac- 
tice, and have denounced it to the world. 

Secondly, the method in which conjurers general- 
ly proceed, bespeaks many traces of deceit. Night, 



.• 



M 

the fertile parent of dreams and visions, is common^ 
ly the time appointed for their magical exhibitions. 
The ghosts appear by the light of candles or lamps, 
in order to conceal with more ease the springs of the 
engines under the shade, which thereby is naturally 
occasioned. The scene of action is designedly pre- 
pared to terrify the spectators. The walls are lined 
with black, human skulls and bones are displayed on 
the table, and all that are present, are forbidden, 
under forfeiture of life, to utter a single word. 
There arises a horrible noise ; the spectator is more 
dead than alive, and his strained imagination is pre- 
pared to receive every impression, which the conju- 
rer wishes to imprint. Some have even the address? 
in order to derange the spectators still more, to make 
them drink some spirituous liquor, in imitation of 
the Egyptian magicians, who presented to the ini- 
tiated an enchanting draught, before they made the 
ghosts appear. Are not these proceedings stamped 
with visible marks of imposition ? for truth is only 
discoverable to a sober and undisturbed mind. It 
ought to be further observed, that magicians gener- 
ally dec) hie to perform, in the presence of men of 
learning, who are able to discover their tricks. They 
prefer the company of young and ignorant people, 
upon whom they may impose with more ease. Why 
do they not display their art before a literary society, 
in open day, and without any contrived apparatus ? 
Are the demons too modest to make their appearance 
in such respectable company ? Or can they, like owls 
and bats, not bear the light of day ? Or are they too 
proud to appear without the ceremonial and etiquette 
of an Hebrew Caldean invitation ? What would we 



43 

say to a physician or a naturalist, who, to prove a 
new discovery, would make his experiments only by 
candle light, or for ignorant people, after having 
frightened them out of their wits. Would we put 
any confidence in him ? And yet we are persuaded to 
give credit to an enchanter, who, under the same cir- 
cumstances, claims the assistance of supernatural be- 
ings, to perform incredible things. 

Thirdly, men seem to be naturally fond of hearing 
and telling strange stories. The child is all atten* 
tion, when it listens to the tales related by its nurse. 
Youth forgets sleep and hunger, when reading the 
Arabian Night tales, or the Mysteries of Udolpho ; 
and travellers know how to impose upon the credu- 
lity of their readers, or of a gaping audience. Cu- 
riosity alone is not the source of this propensity. 
It is fostered and stiffened by misguided ambition. 
Let the most marvellous and incredible story be told> 
with a serious air to an ignorant rustic, he will swal- 
low it like honey, and hasten to repeat it to his fel- 
lows. Try to convince him of his credulity and of 
the falsehood of his account, and you will make him. 
angry, because you deprive him of the pleasure and 
privilege to appear big in company by telling such a 
monstrous story ; remonstrate against him, and you 
offend his clownish pride. He will turn his back up- 
on you, for letting him know that you think yourself 
wiser than other people. 

But it is time to review the chief Magicians and 
Sorcerers ; to examine their character and authority, 
and to canvass their claims to supernatural opera- 
tions. To take every one of them under considera= 

E 



44 

tion, would be as tedious as needless. We will, 
therefore, only take notice of those who have been 
most famous and renowned. And first of all, our at- 
tention is directed to the magicians of Egypt, who 
opposed Moses, the divine legislator of the Jews. 
These sorcerers are said, in the second book of Mo- 
ses, in the seventh and following chapter, to have 
changed their rods into serpents, the water of the 
Nile into blood, and to have produced abundance of 
frogs. But who sees not the mark of IMPOSTOR 
branded on the forehead of these magicians ? Pha- 
raoh undoubtedly believed in witchcraft ; why else 
should he have maintained a number of sorcerers at 
his court ? It was therefore easy to impose upon this 
superstitious king. For witchcraft can never take 
root unless it be supported by credulity. The Egyp- 
tian magicians belonged to the first order of that na- 
tion. They were priests in the exclusive possession 
of the then known arts and sciences, who designedly 
kept the people in the grossest darkness and igno- 
rance. For such men it was no difficult task to 
make all others believe what they pleased. Pharaoh, 
although a king, and a powerful and arbitrary king 
too,, was no member of that order. And as a speci- 
men of his want of knowledge, it seems purposely to 
be recorded, chap. 1, 8, that he was unacquainted 
with the annals of his kingdom. Before this prince 
the magicians were to perform. As men of the first 
rank, it must be supposed that they had free access 
to the royal palace, and were acquainted with the 
situation of all its apartments. And being not in 
want of means, it was not difficult for them, to pro- 



45 

cure, even in the royal house, accomplices to assist 
them in their cheat. Thus circumstanced, they found 
iig difficulty to make it appear by sleight of hand, as 
if their rods were changed into serpents, to give to 
the muddy water of the Nile a reddish color, and sli- 
ly to introduce some hidden frogs, into the royal a- 
partment. But when they were bidden to act on a 
broader scale, and to enter, after the example of Mo- 
ses, the open tracts of nature, they humbly confessed 
that their power had forsaken them. 

The famous witch of En-dor, whose authority is of 
so great consequence to the friends of witchcraft, 
deserves next to be introduced. It is recorded in the 
28th chap, of the book that goes under the name of 
Samuel, that this woman had a familiar spirit, and 
that she raised up the ghost of Samuel at the request 
of Saul. Although the historian gives the story as 
it was reported, without any remarks of his own, still 
from the series of his narrative, it is plain that at that 
time, belief in witchcraft generally prevailed among 
the Israelites, and that great numbers attempted to 
take advantage from this common infatuation of their 
fellow-citizens. The practice of magic had so much 
increased among the Jews, during the tumults of 
their republic, and had become so embarrassing to 
the state, that Saul at the beginning of his reign, had 
been compelled to cut off the wizards and those that 
had familiar spirits. However, this royal act we 
must not ascribe to a conviction in his own mind of 
the futility of this practice, he being rather induced 
to it by the advice of Samuel, who reminded him of 
its unlawfulness. Saul adhered certainly to the last 



46 

to the popular belief of his nation, of which his visit 
to En-dor is an unquestionable proof. Considering 
this, and the distressing situation wherein he was 
placed, as well as the gloomy disposition of his mind, 
we are obliged to allow, that the mind of this unhap- 
py prince was wide open for deceit. His friend and 
counsellor, Samuel, had left him ; he was even for- 
saken by God ; his subjects flocked in great numbers 
to the standard of David ; his powerful enemies pres- 
sed him in every quarter, and threatened his despond- 
ing forces with a total defeat. Thus situated arrives 
the king with a trembling heart and under the cover 
of night at En-dor, in the house of the sorceress, who 
had given already a proof of her cunning, by escap- 
ing the vigilance of the royal officers, that were 
commissioned to put his law against witches into ex- 
ecution. Although the account of her proceedings 
in bringing up the ghost of the prophet, is but short 
and defective, still the traces of imposition are every 
where visible. After having performed the myste* 
rious ceremonies which usually precede conjurations 
of that kind, she causes a cloud of narcotic vapors to 
rise from the earth, at the sight of which she cries 
with a loud voice, to increase the fear of the specta- 
tors. The terrified king asks her, whom seest thou ? 
for it ought to be well observed, that the bystanders 
saw nothing but smoke, and were obliged to give 
credit to the answer, which the hag thought proper 
to give to this question. Her answer was first pretty 
ambiguous, as is generally the case with oracular 
responses. And even when desired by Saul to give 
a more explicit description of the ghost she pretend^ 



47 

ed to see, she resorted to her usual trick, giving him 
a form that could be applied to every aged prophet, 
which however was sufficient to satisfy the credulity 
of Saul. These few remarks must convince every 
unprepossessed reader, that the famous witch of En- 
dor was nothing else but an infamous impostor, who 
had acquired great proficiency in her art ; and that 
she well knew how to turn this trade to her interest : 
of this the fine repast which she served up before 
her royal guest and his servants, is a sufficient proof. 

But, it may be said, how came this woman to know 
that one of her visitors was the king ? and how could 
she give even that superficial description of the 
prophet I Is it then so strange that subjects of a very 
small kingdom, should have personal knowledge of 
their sovereign, who was besides notorious by his 
exceeding high stature ? Should the cunning witch 
not have perceived from the deep respect, which 
was undoubtedly shewn to Saul by his attendants? 
that she had to deal with some high personage, al- 
though he was disguised ? Her serious remonstrance 
to the first address of the strangers, leaves no doubt, 
but that at first sight she harbored some suspicion of 
that kind. And herein she was confirmed by the 
eagerness of Saul to see Samuel, and by his subse- 
quent conversation. Her personal knowledge of the 
prophet is still less subject to doubt. Samuel had 
been from his youth to his old age at the head of the 
Jewish republic, and administered justice among 
them, going from year to year in circuit to Bethel 
and Gilgal and Mispeh. It was therefore almost im- 
possible that any Israelite could remain ignorant of 

E 2: 



48 






his person and character. But it may be further 
asked ; from whence did the voice proceed that an- 
swered the questions of Saul, and the correctness in 
these answers in predicting the fate of the unhappy 
monarch ? As persons who set up for magicians are 
seldom without assistance, the answer might have 
been given by some hidden accomplice. But I am 
rather inclined to believe that the woman was a ven- 
triloquist, who could speak in a manner unobserved 
by the spectators. The correctness in her answer is 
not at all surprising, as the issue of the battle between 
Saul and his enemies could easily be foreseen. Saul 
had pitched his camp not far from En-dor and in the 
face of his enemies. And could an old woman be 
ignorant of what passes in her neighborhood, in par- 
ticular respecting matters of so public a nature as 
war and the strength of the conflicting armies ? But 
with all her foresight and craft, she could not avoid 
committing a great blunder. To-morrow, she said 
in the name of the ghost, thou and thy sons shall be 
with us, namely in the regions of the dead, which 
however* as the event shows, happened not until some 
days after. 

Simon Magus is the first sorcerer mentioned in 
the annals of the gospel : It is said of him, Acts 8> 
9, that he gave himself out to be some great one. 
But he that gives himself out, or pretends to be some- 
thing great, is an impostor. Which character agrees 
very well with the description that Luke gives 
him in the sequel of the history. The legends con- 
cerning this man, recorded by the fathers, are enti- 
tled to no credit, being founded merely on tradition. 



49 

Apollonius of Thyana, who lived in the first cen- 
tury of the christian era, is more celebrated for his 
marvellous deeds. Philostratus, who flourished in 
the reign of emperor Severus, and thus about a hun~ 
dred years after Apollonius, has written the history 
of his life ; but as this work is evidently composed 
with a view to oppose the gospel history of our Sa- 
viour, it may easily be conceived how little credit is 
due to that author. The accounts he gives of the 
miraculous achievements of his hero, are almost too 
ridiculous to be believed by the vulgar. He relates, 
for instance, that Apollonius arriving at Ephesus, at 
a time when the plague was raging in that city, and 
finding an old beggar sitting near the temple of Her- 
cules, commanded that he immediately should be 
stoned, as an enemy of the gods, in which he was 
obeyed by the mob. And when at his command the 
heap of stones was afterwards removed, a dog was 
found instead of the old man. He says also, that 
when Apollonius was called to account by the em- 
peror Domitian, he had disappeared at once from the 
court room : but this he may have effected in a nat- 
ural way. It is known that JElian, the commander 
of the emperor's body guard, was a friend and old 
acquaintance of Apollonius, who could easily remove 
him from among the crowd, and make the supersti- 
tious emperor believe that he had vanished. It is 
further told of him, that, in the midst of a speech de- 
livered by him at Ephesus, he should have cried out ; 
at this moment the tyrant Domitian is murdered, 
which was afterwards proved to be true ; but it is 
also known that he instigated Nerva and others to 



50 

rebel against Domitian, and although he could see 
from Ephesus to Rome, he could not divine that the 
plot would be discovered. In the subsequent ages 
no famous magician appeared, the practice of that 
art being wholly engrossed by old women. Howev- 
er, Albertus Magnus, the illustrious bishop of Ratis- 
bon, who lived in the thirteenth century, was again 
accounted a great adept in magic. Many ridiculous 
stories are told of him, which originated in his great 
knowledge of nature and mechanics, which the igno- 
rance of that age ascribed to supernatural influence. 
Bombast de Hogenheim Paracelsus would fain have 
persuaded his cotemporaries, that he was a great con- 
juror, but it would not succeed according to his 
wishes. He had too little knowledge of mathemat- 
ics, to give to his conjurations the appearance of 
truth ; and his explanations of the natural phenonena 
are ridiculous in the highest degree. In his work 
De Meteoris, he asserts that the mock suns are of 
brass, produced by spirits, whom he calls penates ; 
that the shooting stars are real excrements of the 
celestial bodies, and that the colour of the rainbow is 
composed of salt of fire ; and other eccentric notions- 
Doctor Faust was more successful, being better ver- 
sed in mathematical magic ; but his conjurations 
raised so much disturbance in Erfurt, that he was 
advised by the regents of the university, to withdraw. 
The biography that goes under his name, is a mere 
romance. As late as the year 1750, a certain dis- 
charged hussar by the name of Schroepfer, deceived 
many people and even men of learning, in the city of 
Leipsicj although his conjurations were not without 



51 

visible marks of deception. Like his predecessors, 
he frightened the spectators by an horrible apparatus 
and mysterious ceremonies. He conjured first the 
genii, who, although they did not openly appear, per- 
formed a concert on wine-glasses. The ghosts of 
the dead made not their appearance in their natural 
form, but under the shape of a vapor, and imitated 
their voice. But the wise laughed at his operations, 
and the impostor, burdened with debts, shot himself. 
In the year 1753, a child which was said to be pos- 
sessed of seven devils, was shown at Acken on the 
Elbe ; but when the affair was properly examined 
into and when two practitioners were ordered by high 
authority to watch the child, the spirits thought prop- 
er to make their escape without any further progress. 
In the year 1759, a certain woman of Kemberg, in 
Saxony, named A. F. Lohman, pretended to be pos- 
sessed of demons, and imposed upon the first minis- 
ter of that place, who published a serious account of 
the demoniac. He was however refuted by the cel- 
ebrated Dr. Semler, of Halle, in his Dispatch of Mod- 
ern Spirits and Old Errors, in the affair of A. F. Loh- 
man ; whereupon the possession took a very ridicu- 
lous end. These few instances are sufficient to con- 
vince us, that all magical operations, all stories of 
witchcraft and visions, originate either in delusion, or 
that they proceed from designing imposition. 

But what can w^ oppose to the confessions of 
witches in courts of justice ? Have they not avowed 
their commerce with the devil ? Have they not ac- 
knowledged that they could produce storms and dis- 



52 

tempers by the assistance of evil spirits ? And have 
they not been sentenced, on this account, to suffer a 
painful death ? However incredible it may first ap- 
pear, that all these declarations of witches should be 
false and unfounded, still we are convinced by expe- 
rience and a proper examination of the character and 
conduct of the judges, that no essential proof in fa- 
vor of witchcraft, can be derived from these confes- 
sions. Those unhappy victims of ignorance may be 
brought under four classes. Some were entirely in- 
nocent. Summoned before the bar by malice or av- 
arice, they were forced by the most exquisite tortures 
to avow the absurd inquiries of the judges. Others 
of these wretches believed themselves to be witches. 
Being either ideots or childish, and having repeat- 
edly heard stories of witchcraft and of intercourse * 
with demons, their fancy was deranged, so that they 
at last really believed they saw the devil. By the use 
of narcotic salves they were thrown into a deep sleep, 
and dreamt that they were flying through the air on 
a broomstick, and danced with Satan in the assembly 
of witches. Considering the power of imagination 
and the effects of melancholy, we have great reason 
to suspect the confessions of those unhappy women ; 
for it is not seldom that persons endowed with a live- 
ly imagination, when they repeatedly represent to 
themselves the same thing, at last really believe that 
they perceive it. This is often the case with chil- 
dren ; when they are continually entertained with 
stories of apparitions, their fancy will take fire, and 
they at last will believe they see ghosts. This is the 
reason why nobody sees apparitions, that does not 



53 

believe in them. When children are permitted to 
hear and to read tales concerning witches, they will 
at last believe that they see the devil, and that they 
have intercourse with evil spirits. Many deluded 
children of that kind, from seven to fourteen years, 
were executed in Wurtzburg, in the seventeenth cen- 
tury, after having voluntarily confessed intercourse 
with Satan. It is related in the biography of An- 
toinette Bourignon, that, when several nuns belong- 
ing to a monastery in the Netherlands, and suspect- 
ed of witchcraft, were examined by the inquisitors, 
almost all the young pensioners of said cloister, ac- 
cused themselves of the same crime. We cannot 
read without pity the ridiculous confessions of these 
girls. Every one of them had a little devil, who 
slept and played with them and carried them through 
the air in the assembly of witches. But it is to be 
lamented that men of learning, who presided as judg- 
es, could give credit to those absurd declarations, 
and condemn the poor children to corporeal punish- 
ment and even to death. Further, children and all 
childish persons are inclined to imitate others, which 
propensity, when misguided by a deranged fancy, 
leads them to commit the greatest extravagancies. 
A remarkable instance of that kind, happened in Si- 
lesia, in the beginning of the last century. The 
children of a fortified town, seeing the Swedish forces 
performing their daily devotions in the open field, 
were suddenly attacked with a religious enthusiasm. 
They assembled in crowds in the field to keep pray- 
er meetings, disregarding all threatenings and chas- 
tisements that were inflicted to cure them of their 



m 

religious frenzy. Even a company of soldiers, who 
were commanded to frighten them into obedience, 
could not disperse them, although they fired at them 
with powder. But at last the infatuation ceased of 
itself. It is therefore no wonder that children, in 
particular, that are educated in monasteries, where 
their imagination is heated with all kind of absurdi- 
ties, when they hear an old nun day by day regale 
them with stories of witchcraft, or when she even 
endeavors to persuade them that she has intercourse 
with demons, and to that end performs mysterious 
ceremonies in their presence, should at last fall into 
a magical enthusiasm and really believe that they are 
witches, and have intercourse with evil spirits, ad- 
hering to it to the last. Old women resemble chil- 
dren in this respect. Their minds are weak and their 
imagination lively. Can the confession of such per- 
sons be entitled to any credit ? Besides, experience 
teaches us that melancholy persons often fancy them- 
selves to have committed the greatest crimes, de- 
nouncing themselves as great criminals. I myself 
have known an instance of that description. A re- 
spectable planter in the West Indies, who was a 
member of the protestant church, and a man of un- 
impeachable character and undisguised piety, having 
been deprived of his eye-sight by a film, fell into a 
deep melancholy, which was unquestionably occa- 
sioned by the same cause that had produced the film. 
He accused himself of the blackest crimes, and en- 
treated his relations to deliver him up to punishment. 
At the request of his friends, I visited him and con- 
scientiously endeavored to convince him of his delu- 



55 

sion; but although I possessed his confidence, all 
my attempts to that purpose were in vain. He per- 
sisted in his declarations until he recovered from his 
sickness, into which he however soon relapsed, and 
expired. How many of the forementioned unhappy 
old women may have been in the same circumstances, 
and ought therefore to have been sent to the hospital 
or bedlam, to cure them of their madness, instead of 
having been condemned to the pile. Thirdly, many 
had been accounted witches, who labored under epi- 
leptic or convulsive fits. The symptoms of the cata- 
lepsis, may still easier be mistaken for supernatural 
effects, as persons afflicted with that strange sickness 
i lose all sensibility and become callous to every bodi- 
ly injury. At the close of the paroxysm, they make 
all kind of strange motions, as laughing, dancing, &c. 
Having recovered themselves, they commonly relate 
that they have been in heaven or in hell or in some 
distant place, and that they have conversed with ab- 
sent or dead persons, Sec. The visions of the par- 
oxysm generally correspond with the usual impres- 
sions of their imagination. When, therefore, an old 
woman, whose head is full of witchcraft, sorcery and 
bugbears, is so unhappy as to be attacked by this 
sickness, then she will believe that she has been in 
the assembly of witches, or changed into a wolf, and 
that she has injured men and beasts. This impres- 
sion will be so powerful on her mind, that she will 
declare herself to be a witch in spite of death. Many 
other nervous diseases are apt to raise suspicion of 
witchcraft, in particular when they are attended with 
irregular and violent motions of the body. In the 

F 



56 

same manner, many night-walkers, who performed 
extraordinary things while asleep, have been consid- 
ered as influenced by evil spirits, and condemned as 
night-hags. But there is a kind of pretended sor- 
cerers who ought to be exterminated whenever they 
can be traced. I mean those poisoners who learn 
the art of preparing venomous remedies with the 
sole view to satisfy their wicked propensities. From 
the above quoted work of Pliny, it plainly appears 
that the greater part of pretended sorcerers in Rome, 
were more guilty of this infernal practice than of 
witchcraft. There are some narcotic poisons which, 
when administered in small doses, do not effectually 
deprive man of life, but produce convulsions, con- 
tractions of the limbs, and other extraordinary ner- 
vous distempers. If wicked people are acquainted 
with these medicines, they may abuse them so as to 
produce effects which ignorance ascribes to witch- 
craft. And even the persons who apply these medi- 
cines, may attribute their powerful operations to in- 
fernal influence, which to procure, they, in their 
opinion, are obliged to resort to mysterious ceremo- 
nies. But Satan is certainly not concerned in this 
mischief, those fatal symptoms being produced only 
by the power of the medicines and their destructive 
preparation, and applied by the contriver of all evil — 
the human heart. It is common with friends of 
witchcraft, of visions and of apparitions, to appeal to 
the highest authority, to the the sacred volume. It 
is recorded in sacred history, they say, that sorcer- 
ers have existed in Egypt, that the witch of En-dor 
las raised up the ghost of Samuel, and many instan- 



res of vision's, apparitions and demoniacal influence, 
are mentioned by the inspired writers. Thus forti- 
fied, they think themselves safe against every attack 
of antagonists. But I would advise these well-mean- 
ing Christians, in this and similar cases, to apply the 
authority of the Bible with more precaution and mod- 
eration. This sacred book is no encyclopaedia, or 
source from whence the knowledge of all the arts 
and sciences must be drawn. Its authors wrote in a 
simple and uncultivated style, accommodated to the 
unpolished genius of remote antiquity ; so that from 
the forementioned accounts we can infer nothing 
more than that those notions prevailed in their time. 
In this regard, therefore, we ought to follow the ad- 
vice of the fathers of the primitive church, who laid 
it down as a maxim : that in dubious scriptural pas- 
sages, we must first enquire, what reason dictates 
and what daily experience teaches, and explain such 
passages accordingly ; and since the an of magic or 
supernatural operations, performed by the agency of 
spirits, cannot be proved by reason or ascertained by 
experience, it foiiows that the scriptures cannot be 
applied to this case. Moses relates the magical per- 
formances before Pharaoh, in the popular language 
of his age. From this circumstance we have no more 
right to conclude that even Moses himself believed 
in witchcraft, than to say that every person who 
makes use of the expression," the sun rises,'' is op- 
posed to the Copernican system. The laws against 
witchcraft, published by him, are merely intended to 
guard the Jews against superstitious practices, where 
by they could be seduced into idolatry. The posses- 



sed or demoniacs, of whom mention is made in the 
gospel, arc often classed among the sick, whom Je- 
sus healed. And Doctor Richard Mead, in his ex- 
cellent work, Demorbis Biblicis, or on the diseases 
mentioned in the bible, has evidently shown that all 
diseases of those times, the nature of which was un- 
known, and that had extraordinary effects on the hu- 
man frame, e. g. lunacy, epilepsis and convulsive fits, 
were ascribed to the influence of demons, not only 
among* the Jews, but also among the Greeks. Hence 
he was supported by the learned Hugh Farmer, disciple 
of the pious Dr. Doddridge in his dissertations on 
the worship of human spirits among the heathen na- 
tions ; on Christ's temptation, and on the demoniacs. 
What has been advanced is sufficient, I believe, to 
convince every unprejudiced reader, that belief in 
witchcraft, or in the influence of demons on the na- 
tural world, and all notions connected with it, are 
without the least foundation, having ignorance £m 
their parent, and deception for their foster-mother. 
If it were an innocent error, like the visions of 
Swedenborg, then we would pity the poor mortal, 
who suffers himself to be deluded so far from the 
path of reason. But aa every corrupt tree brings 
forth evil fruit, so this noxious plant is productive of 
the greatest evils, by corroding even the vitals of 
human happiness. It either relaxes the cheering 
confidence in Divine Providence, or gives to fanciful 
hope an unwarranted stimulus. It sheds the seeds 
of suspicion at large, pregnant with envy, discord, 
hatred, malice and revenge. It deprives man of his 
natural energy, sinks him into the Ian of indolence 



59 

and sloth, and entangles the way to mental improve- 
ment. Most of these baneful effects may be applied 
even to theosophy. We know of no instance that an 
'enthusiast should have enriched the republic of let- 
ters with a single new discovery. It seems rather to 
be their aim to perplex the human mind by fantastic- 
al notions, and a barbarous and unintelligible dialect. 
And although they boast the exclusive possession of 
the art, to render ma*i deaf against the voice of pas- 
sion, and to raise him to godlike perfection ; still 
their interior light seems to lead them to ignorance 
and indolence. Arts and sciences have always been 
promoted by mental exertion, while theosophical il- 
lumination has impeded their progress. 

I will only add, that belief in witchcraft, in' vir- 
ions and apparitions, and the interference of spirits 
in human affairs, is diametrically opposed to the most 
essential doctrines of the gospel. It is 

1. A fundamental doctrine of the christian relio-ion-, 
that there is but ONE GOD— John 17, 3. If we 
therefore, ascribe to Satan or his host such opera- 
lions, as presuppose qualities, that belong to the true 
God only, e. g. omniscience,, omnipresence and crea- 
ting power, then we place another divine being by 
the side of the true God, and fall into the error which 
is justly condemned in the Manicheans of old. 

2. It is a fundamental article of the christian faith, 
that man is a particular object of divine care, and 
that without the will of his Father in Heaven, no hair 
can fall from his head — Luke 21, 18.. If we there- 
fore admit that evil, spirits, or men by their assistance, 

j can injure us, we deny that comforting doctrine, sup- 

F 2 



60 



posing that God is not sufficiently powerful or not 
willing to protect us. 

3. It is declared in the gospel, that death decides 
the fate of man ; that the blessed cannot be disturb- 
ed in the enjoyment of rest and felicity — Rev. 14, 
i3. Nor the wicked abandon the place of his doom 
— Luke 16, 26, 31. If we, therefore, believe in ap- 
paritions of ghosts of good or bad men, we over- 
throw this gospel. 

4. We are assured that it was one of the chief ends 
©f the mission of Christ, to destroy the power of Sa- 
tan — Heh. 2, 14. If, we, therefore, allow that the- 
devil has any more power in the world, we rob the 
King of Truth of the brightest jewel in his crown, and 
discredit the words, which he spoke with his dying 
mouth : It is finished, 






ANNOTATIONS, 



PAGE I. 

Art. — Magic is called an art, because it requires 
preparation and skill, whereas the power of perform- 
ing true miracles, is neither methodically acquired, 
nor dependent on contrivance, but proceeds imme- 
diately from God. 

page 1. 

Magicians— Ought to be distinguished from mag- 
ic, which was the title given by the ancient inhabi- 
tants of the east, to their wise men and philosophers. 
The word magus is of Persian origin. Hoge signi- 
fies in the Hebrew language, of which the Persian 
is a dialect, to observe ; hence Mage, an observer ; 
however in later times, the word magus was also ap- 
plied to conjurers and enchanters, and to all who 
pretended to an intercourse with spirits, and to su- 
pernatural operations. 

page 1. 

Burnt to ashes. — This and a great number of cu- 
rious performances, as the palengenesis or restora- 
tion of plants, are described in a work published at 
Berlin, in eight volumes, by the famous chymist, Joh, 
Ch. Wiegleb. 

PAGE 3. 

God himself. — It is asserted on good authority^ 
that men are inclined to make gods to themselves 
after their own heart. The form and character which 
they ascribe to their god, generally corresponds with 



62 

their own ideas of perfection, and the darling* pas- 
sions of their heart. Thus Odin, the god of the an- 
cient inhabitants of Northern Europe, and Fitzleputzle 
of the ancient Mexicans, were cruel monsters. The 
gods of the Greeks were generally liars, deceivers 
and intriguers. And still we may, with some degree 
of certainty, form an opinion of any man's character, 
from his peculiar conceptions of the deity. 
page 3. 

Future state. — As it is with thje human concep- 
tions of the deity, so it is with their opinion con- 
cerning the future state. What is here their greatest 
delight, that they wish to enjoy in the future world, 
The carnal Jews differed hut very little from Ma- 
homet in the description of the paradise. The Tal- 
mud says, that the Jews will sit at golden tables*, cov- 
ered with golden dishes, containing meat of the Le- 
viathan, a fish more than three miles long, and of the 
bird Juchna, the eggs of which cover three acres of 
land, and of fat roasted geese, and corned beef ; they 
will drink the most delicious sack, from golden cups 
holding 221 measures each ; their wives will bring 
forth children everyday; the trees will be continual- 
ly laden with fruit, and the stores will be filled with 
ready made silk clothing. These sensual notions, 
after having undergone some refinement, were in- 
troduced into the christian church by Montanus the 
founder of the millenium, and are still among the 
leading features of enthusiasm. 
page 3. 

Inanimate things. — We perceive that insane, stu- 
pid and intoxicated persons; are continually mutter 



63 

ing to themselves. They address every object that 
is in their way, and fight the post of a fence, with the 
same bravery as Don Quixote the windmills. 

page 3. 
Evil sfiirits worshi/i/ied. — The sailors of China of- 
fer sacrifices to Satan, under the name of Joost, giv- 
ing him of the best sort of tea, (gun-powder) which 
on that account is called in the Dutch language, 
Joostjes tea. 

page 4. 
Lunatics — Are generally considered in the east as 
favorites of Divine Providence. The reverence which 
the Mahometans show to santos, or lunatics, falls lit- 
tle short of divine adoration. From Acts 16, 16, it 
appears that the same opinion prevailed among the 
Greeks. 

page 5. 
Revealed by God. — Were magic of divine origin, 
and handed down by our first parents to their poster- 
ity, then all nations would follow the same method m 
procuring supernatural aid. But history teaches that 
different nations have not only employed different 
means, but that even the same nations, have tried to 
obtain by new means, what the old ones could not ef- 
fect. It is true, the Jews boast that they once have 
been in possession of an infallible magical remedy, 
which they call Schemhamphoros, signifying, a def- 
inite or explicit divine name, excelling that of Jeho- 
vah, and implying not only, the eternal immutability 
of God, but also his almighty power, omniscience, 
truth, justice, benevolence and mercy. The TaK 
mudists say, that David found this name in the btmg-?. 



64 

hole of the earth, when he was digging for the foun- 
dation of the temple, and that by its power the pious 
are able to create a world. But although they assert 
that Moses and even our Saviour should have per- 
formed the miracles, by the power of this Schem- 
hamphoros, they can give no further account of it, 
than that it was kept, to prevent abuse in the Holy of 
Holies of the temple, and that it afterwards was de- 
stroyed when Jerusalem was taken by Titus Vespa- 
sian. A Jew may believe this. 

PAGE 5. 

Talismans— -Are properly the learned among the 
Mahometans ; then it signifies certain figures or 
characters engraven in stone, or written on paper, 
which the superstitious hang to their body', to pre- 
serve them against evil accidents or to foresee future 
events. What power has been ascribed and is still 
attributed by superstitious christians, to the sign of 

the cross, is sumcientlv known from church historv 
- - - - • * * ....-___- # 

and from the ritual of the Roman Catholic Church. 

PAGE 6. 

Enchanting fiower. — It is abominable that even 
christians will not abandon the sacrilegious practice, 
to make use of the name of God and of scripture 
passages to superstitious purposes. They should 
remember the tremendous words, " I will not hold 
him guiltless, that takes my name in vain." 
page 7. 

Amulets — Are certain things which superstitious 
people hang about the neck, as certain herbs or pa- 
pers with scripture passages, to prevent or to cure 
disease. 



65 

PAGE 7. 

On particular days. — This absurd notion is more 
destructive to the husbandman, than the locusts of 
Egypt. It is time, he says, to sow, to plant, but the 
day is not lucky and the signs unfavorable ; the busi- 
ness, however pressing, must be postponed, until the 
aspect will be more promising ; but when the pro- 
pitious time arrives, the weather is against him, or 
the work has so much crowded on his hands, that he 
can do it only by halves, or that he must omit what 
is most necessary. If the experiment could be made, 
and I believe that I have read somewhere, that it has 
been actually made in Europe, that seven or eight 
farmers, were each allowed a spot of ground of the 
same value, and that they were instructed to manure, 
to sow and to plant on different days and at different 
changes of the moon, and if this experiment were re- 
peated for seven or eight succeeding years, it would 
be found at the end, that the most industrious had 
been the most successful. 

page 8. 

Certain numbers. — The number three, like the 
number seven, has always been in favor with ignorant 
people. When a horse has received a wound, three 
little sticks of a certain growth, and mysteriously cut 
must be applied to it in a certain direction, and the 
bark of them preserved in a very dry place. That a 
little stick put into a wound, will contribute to its 
cure, by giving vent to the purulent matter, is found- 
ed in reason : but why will not one stick do as well ? 
The reason is obvious : three is the sacred number. 
Why the mysterious application ? Because a simple 



66 

remedy would lose all its charm, and deprive the 
doctor of his importance. 

page S. 

Noble and sublime thoughts. — Even wicked thoughts 
and criminal notions that require some cunning and 
contrivance, are ascribed to supernatural influence, 
by people in the lowest stage of civilization. When 
the negroes in the West Indies have succeeded in 
pilfering a stranger, they commonly introduce the ac- 
count they give of it to their friends with the words : 
God has blessed me. This opinion seems still to pre- 
vail among the lower class of more civilized nations. 
Let a loquacious woman tell the story of her quar- 
rels, and in what manner she has defended herself, 
she will commonly conclude her harangue with the 
observation : \ spoke, I did not know how ; it seem- 
ed as if the words were given into my mouth. Al- 
though this expression may be in some measure cor- 
rect, still the idea commonly attached to it is erro- 
neous. 

page 9. 

Sympathy. — It is strange that this word is. often 
used by people who do not understand its meaning. 
But the more mysterious the word the safer the lure. 
Sympathetic doctors have assured me that the pain 
which they feel in the hand applied to the disorder- 
ed limb, is greater than that of the patient himself. 
If the sufferer be provided with an equal share of 
imagination, it may give him some relief. But it is 
commonly the case that the evil, unless remedied by 
the healing hand of nature, returns with redoubled 
force and afterwards baffles all the efforts of the phv- 



67 

sician, whose timely aid would perhaps have effected 
a radical cure. 

page 10. 
Pofiular magic. — Even magic of the coarsest kind 
was in vogue among the Greeks. Pericles, when 
sick, wore an amulet hung to his body by a woman. 
And Plato de Legg XII makes mention of the tying 
of a knot as a magic means. Hecate was commonly 
invoked during magical operations. 

page 10. 
Pofiular creed — Herein he followed the principles 
of his master. To conform with the national reli- 
gion and ouclen eidenai, or to know nothing, were 
two chief maxims of Socrates, to which we must as- 
cribe the order he gave to his disciples, immediate- 
ly before his death, to offer a cock to Esculapius. 

page 10. 
Number of citizens. — As Plato believed a certain 
number of citizens propitious to a state, so some peo- 
ple believe a certain number placed at a table to be 
fatal. Many superstitious people have been scared 
almost to death by counting thirteen persons at the 
same banquet. But since the stomach was con- 
cerned in this notion, the arguments of which are 
often more powerful than those of reason, it has hap- 
pily become unfashionable. 

page 1L 
Efiicurus. — Superstition and unbelief are closely 
allied. Often they go hand in hand, or take occa- 
sionally one another's place. Small is the number of 
the wise, who are able to steer clear from these fa- 
tal extremities. When the leaders of the French 

G 



68 



revolution attempted to free their fellow-citizens* 
from the shackles of superstition, they plunged head- 
long into infidelity. However, this madness, like all 
other extremes, came soon to an end. Incredulity- 
can never become general, or be of long continuation, 
because it is incongruous with the nature of man, 
who is imturally a religious being. And on this ac- 
count superstition is more dangerous than infidelity, 
as being more congenial .to the human mind, and thus 
easier supported and propagated by external power. 
page 1 1. 
Caballa — Signifies properly, reception, a term com- 
monly used among the Jews to denote any kind of in- 
struction. When a Jew advances a position which is 
not authorised in his sacred writings, he says, I have 
it from the caballa, or by tradition, which is of higher 
authority with them than even the written law. 
page 12. 
Inactivity. — With this idea their notion of the Dei- 
ty completely agrees, representing Him as enjoying 
the most perfect and unconcerned ease. 
page 12. 
i^arcct/— employed. — Mountaineers on the contrary- 
are inclined to visions of a more terrific kind. The 
wild romantic prospects wherewith they are surround- 
ed, the hovering clouds continually changing in form, 
the fogs which incessantly envelope them, the toil- 
some and dangerous manner of living to which they 
are exposed, bewilder their imagination and fill the 
mind with gloomy ideas. The second sights of the 
Highlanders in Scotland) are an evincing proof of 
this remark. 



69 

PAGE 13. 

Fatal notions. — The history of the Jewish and the 
Christian church gives many dismal accounts of the 
enormities committed by enthusiasm, when wrought 
up into fanaticism. The ferocious atrocity that at- 
tended the siege of Jerusalem on the part of the 
Jews, the destructive war which the Anabaptists stir- 
red up in Germany, are facts too notorious to be 
mentioned. Most of the modern leaders of enthusi- 
asm resembled in some respect the Bramins in their 
manner of living ; for although they indulged not in 
idleness, still their occupation required but little ex- 
ercise of the body. Jacob Boehme was a shoema- 
ker ; George Fox was of the. same profession. Ma- 
ny of the founders of anabaptism were tailors. All 
followed a sedentary life, by which the abdomen is 
pressed into an unnatural position, impeding the ne- 
cessary operations of the intestines, which often oc- 
casions a spleen, the parent of fantastical notions. 
page 14. 

Own example . — The emperors Aurelius, Pvfaxen- 
tius, and in particular Nero, were great patrons of 
magic. Pliny says, Nero would even command the 
gods, and to this end he sent for the most famous 
magicians and squandered vast sums of money upon 
them. He even suffered himself to be initiated into 
their order, and offered not only animal but even hu- 
man sacrifices. But he was too crafty to be deceived 
by them, and therefore discharged them as impostors 
and would have nothing more to do with them. 
page 15. 

Fathers of the primitive church. — Many of these 
well-meaning men were credulous in the highest de- 



70 

gree. Every page in the works of Tertullian and of 
Epiphanius bears witness to this truth. And even 
Ireneus and Eusehius were not free from that fault. 
page 15. 

Pointed out the thief. — This he might easily do by 
observing the countenance of the poor fellow, which 
bore undoubtedly the mark of conscious guilt, in the 
presence of so great a magician. 
page 17. 

Jewish tradition. — According to the Talmud, the 
demons were originally good spirits or angels, crea- 
ted on the sixth day ; but two of them, namely, Scham- 
husai and Usael having manifested a malevolent jeal- 
ousy at the creation ofman, were expelledfrom heaven. 
Having settled among men, they intermarried with 
their daughters, and begot a great number of mongrel 
demons. This opinion they formed on a misconstruc- 
tion of Genesis 6,2,mistaking the words, beneiElohim, 
or the sons of God, for angels. It is asserted on the 
same authority that the first wife of Adam, who was cre- 
ated at the same time with him from dust, and named 
Lilith, first turned witch and afterwards became a pro- 
lific mother of demons, wherefore God created another 
wife for Adam from one of his ribs. Lilith, it is said, 
is still in existence, with three other female devil s> 
namely, Naema, Magalath, and Igareth, who contin- 
ually colonise the earth with evil spirits. Not to 
mention other fables of the same stamp. 
page 18. 

Desert places. — Paulus was the first hermit ; living 
ninety years in the deserts of Egypt. The number 
of those that were animated by his example, increas- 



71 

ed so fast that they were soon obliged to associate 
into communities, submitting to certain rules and laws- 
The places of residence of these several communities 
were called monasteries, and the' members, monks, 
signifying solitaries. Egypt has always been the hot 
bed of fantastical notions, and many exotic plants from 
that impure soil, have corrupted the genuine fruits 
of the christian spirit. 

page 19. 
A kind of fury. — The Pythea or priestess who 
pronounced the oracles at Delphos, was so sensible 
of her disagreeable situation that she often refused to 
mount the sacred tripod in order to receive the pro- 
phetic steam, by which she was thrown into a convul- 
sive frenzy. 

page 24. 
West of England. — Dr. Beckker, in the quoted 
work, has shown to a demonstration, that the charge 
against that unhappy woman was founded in malice, 
while he at the same time exposes the^ credulity of 
the omcial witnesses. 

FAGE 24. 

Rosicrusian order. — -Robert Fludd, a physician of 
London and a member of that society, has published 
many works on the wonders of alchymies and the 
mysticism of the Rosicrusians ; but they are pro- 
foundly obscure. 

page 24. 

Jacob Boe/ime—Wa.& a shoemaker of Goerlitz, in 

Saxony, which has given birth to many visionaries. 

Honest Jacob applied for some years closely to his 

business^ and to a devout attention to religious exer- 

" - G 2 



cises. At last he was rewarded, according to his 
own account, with some supernatural illuminations, 
which broke upon his mind and A overpowered him 
with ecstacy. These spiritual enjoyments, when not 
longer able to keep to himself, he sent into the world 
under the title of Aurora, or the rising of the sun. 
Having been advised by the magistrates to mind his 
calling and to leave off writing in future, he obeyed 
their injunction for seven years, and from that time 
poured forth a great number of books, which, in the 
estimation of the enlightened, are more precious than 
gold. Mr. William Law has published a pompous 
edition of them in English, which found so ready a 
market that another edition was soon wanted. 
page 25. 

Still hovering over the human mind, — In the regis- 
ter of a small city in Upper Germany, called Hech- 
ingen, is recorded a proclamation by order of the 
reigning prince, and dated Feb. 18th, 1725, promis- 
ing five guilders to every one who shall take an elf, 
goblin, or any other spectre, and deliver it either dead 
or alive to the first huntsman of the prince. [See 
Anselm's Rabiosus travels through Upper Germany.] 
page 25. 

This side of the Atlantic. — The enthusiastic works 
of Swedenborg are translated into English. In his 
life time he had few adherents ; but after his death, 
which happened in 1772, his notions were better rel- 
ished. His followers in England and in the United 
States, style themselves the new Jerusalem church. 
page 25. 

Cagliostro. — Count Alexander, whose true name 
was Joseph Balsamo, came to England by tjie way of 



73 

France, after having visited all the parts of the Le* 
vant. Here he imposed upon the credulity of the 
great and opulent, b r ~ his pretensions to supernatural 
knowledge and alchymy. On his return to Italy he 
was seized and committed to the castle of St. Angelo* 
where he died in 1794. 

page 26. 

Charms. — I happened to obtain a charm that was 
given for the bite of a mad dog. It was a piece of 
written paper. How great was my surprise when I 
saw it contained the important words : eram, eras, 
erat, eramus, eratis, erant. Words that may vex a 
lazy school boy and put the arm of his master in mo- 
tion, but which were never intended to prevent mad- 
ness. Government ought to stop such fatal practi- 
ces, whereby the lives of many are put in jeopardy. 
page 29. 

Wax-figures. — -According to Theodor de Niem, 
the daughters of Tamerlane made such wax figures 
and directed them towards the countries which their 
father intended to conquer, and thereby promoted his 
victories. [See Bsyie's Diet. art. Rugger. 
page 29. 

Into a wolf. — That this opinion prevailed in the 
time of Augustus, we learn from Virgil, Eclogue 
VIII, 97, where Alphibeesus addresses Damon in the 
following manner : 

His ego ssepe lupum fieri, et secendere sylvis, 
Moerin, saepe animas imis exire sepulchris, 
L Atque satas alio vidi traducere Hiesses, 



74 

By the power of these herbs, I have often seen Marls transform 

himself into a wolf and hide in the woods. 
Often have I seen the ghosts rise from the subterraneous tombs 
And by their power the laden sheaves removed. 

But the learned men in Rome, like Petronius and 
Pliny, laughed at this folly. 

page 32. 

To be fired at, — The balls used for that purpose 
are made of quicksilver, covered with a thin coat of 
glass. Thus they exactly resemble in colour and 
weight the common leaden balls ; but being put into 
the barrel of a gun and rammed, they naturally break 
into small pieces, which, at the discharge, are dissi- 
pated in the air. The juggler stands at the distance, 
as a mark, brandishing his sword, while at the mo- 
ment the gun is fired he drops slily two equal pieces 
of a leaden ball, pretending that they are of the same 
ball that was shot at him, being cut to pieces by his 
sword. 

page 43. 

Mysteries of Udolfiho.— Novels, in particular of 
the marvellous kind, are the bane of youth. They 
engross the time that could be employed for nobler 
purposes ; they inflame the passions ; store the ima- 
gination with fantastical notions, and, what is worse 
than all, they corrupt the heart. Many young per- 
sons by indulging an unpardonable passion for novels, 
have not only rendered themselves unfit for the use- 
ful stages of life, but have paved the way for their 
destruction. The unhappy fate of the author of the 
forementioned tale, should be a warning to all lovers 
of romances. 



75 

PAGE 48. 

Ventriloquists.— There are people who have ao 
quired a skill to speak with the mouth closed, in such 
a manner as that the sound seems to issue from the 
belly or from a distant quarter. The words that arc 
used in the quoted passage, as well in the original 
Hebrew, as in the Greek translation of the Old Tes- 
tament, plainly show that the witch of En-dor belong- 
ed to that sort. 

page 48. 

To-morrow. — To apologize for the veracity of the 
father of lies, it has been asserted by the friends of 
witchcraft, that, by to-morrow, is understood in the 
Hebrew dialect, every future period. Although this 
may be granted when some other word is added to 
it, e. g. yesterday and to-morrow, to-morrow and after 
to-morrow, still where the word is singly used, there 
it has a definite signification, denoting the day that 
succeeds the present. 

page 52. 

Assembly of witches.~ Many places in Europe are 
renowned as rendezvous of witches. In Suabia they 
assemble on the Heuberg, in Hungary, at Carpen, and 
in Lower Saxony, on the Blocksberg. 
page 54. 

Committed great crimes. — Sufferers under hyster- 
ical complaints are subject to the same gloomy ima- 
ginations. They sink often so deep into melancholy 
as to border on despair. This gloom of the mind is 
sometimes mistaken for a religious struggle, requir- 
ing ministerial assistance only. But this devil cannot 
be driven out, unless by fasting and prayer. Fasting* 



76 



a prudent diet, and medical aid, must precede, or at 
least accompany religious instruction and rational 
devotion, whereas clerical assistance alone, in partic- 
ular when administered without precaution, often 
tends to increase the evil. 

page 56. 
Poisoners. — Whole plots of these incarnate devils, 
and among them members of noble families, were 
executed in France at the beginning of the last cen- 
tury, 



THE END. 



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